Everyone-Needs-A-Friend
by Erebessa
Summary: What happens when Garnet is against Steven going to Homeworld and they have a heated argument? Well he end up going alone with the Diamonds of course! And sooner or later meets Spinel...you know where im going with this. (First Updates go on Wattpad along with other stories of mine)
1. Steven-Goes-To-Homeworld

**(Generally a message for my Wattpad readers, read it if you want, I'm also just talking to my general readers, but the main subject is for my Wattpad readers.)**

How's it going readers? So yeah, this is a Spinel x Steven because I can't find any so I'm making my own. No promises on back to back updates though, I have a story I've been working on since I've gotten here that I take the most seriously and I can't even do back to back with that.

Also, I know I was supposed to put this up last night, but I guess it took longer to get a plot that I personally enjoy, sorry.

Now, if you follow my other stories, you might be asking: "why are you taking on another book when updates for your other two are sparse as it is?"

And I'm here to say...well because I want to write what I enjoy, I don't enjoy the arc that my main story is sort of stuck on until I can find a way to get to the next one without ruining the story, so I rarely update it because I sucked almost all I can from that arc and now it needs to move...I just don't know how I'm going to do that.

As for my other story, it's just a hobby, something fun to write despite no one really reading it on the account of it being an OC x Steven. But it's fun for me, I just wanted to develop my own character in a story to show one of the AUs she could've went down, it's really more of a personal thing than anything. Oh yeah, my stories take place in the same universe, just in different timelines that I create...just a fun fact.

Anyways, you readers that are just looking for a Spinel x Steven story, you don't give two shits so let's just get into the story, I'd like to welcome you to my little account and the story,...think I said story enough yet? Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Now, as always, get comfy, get some snacks, and let's read!

-=Earth=-

-=Blue Diamond/Yellow Diamond/Steven/The Crystal Gems=-

-=After the Diamonds find Pink's leg ship=-

The Crystal Gems and Steven had finished showing the Diamonds what had happened to the Hems that we're on earth and recovering the ship, so now Steven and the Diamonds were off talking near Pink's ship about what they planned to do while the Crystal Gems have their own conversation.

"Garnet, Steven wants to go and talk to White Diamond, that means he will be going to Homeworld..." Pearl said anxiously as she glanced over at him.

Garnet was under a lot of stress right now. Steven was just casually chatting with the Diamond that wanted Ruby shattered, her wedding day was overshadowed by this attack, and the Diamonds were just acting friendly! She hated this, Steven wasn't supposed to be trying to redeem them, this was supposed to be their final battle.

"No, he won't be going anywhere." Garnet said, a glare under her visor in the direction of the two Diamonds.

"Garnet?..." Amethyst looked up to her with a confused and slightly worried expression.

"Steven, we would like to talk to you in private." Garnet called him over.

"Not now fusion, we are catching up with Pink." Yellow shot back with a glare five times more intense than the one Garnet had.

"It's ok Yellow, it'll only be a few minutes." Steven assured before rushing over to his family. "What's up guys?"

"Steven, inside. We're having a team meeting." Garnet said before walking inside, followed by the rest of the Crystal Gems, including Bismuth, who was holding the Gems of Peridot and Lapis.

Steven followed close, not sure what Garnet seemed so upset about. After they got inside Steven realized that this wasn't exactly all that private of a meeting considered the front of his entire house was gone. "So, why did we need to come inside what is left of the house?"

"Steven, you're staying here." Garnet said in her usual stoic voice. "We will not let you go to Homeworld with those shatterers."

"Whaaaat?! But, why not?!" He whined, receiving a raised brow from Yellow, who was waiting next to Blue and the ship.

"Steven, you need to understand, White Diamond is very dangerous, Homeworld is very dangerous, we can't just let you go there...not again..." Pearl said, looking away in sadness as she recalled the time she lost him to Aquamarine and almost lost him for good to that wretched planet.

"Pearl, it's different this time, I'm going there so I can help the corrupted Gems, I'm going there WITH the Diamonds, I'll be ok!" He argued, upset that they were trying to keep him from helping all the Gems they had been trying to save for a millennia now.

"I don't know guys, I think he can handle himself, he is a Diamond too after all, and trust me when I say I'm not trying to speak kindly of the Diamonds at all when I say this, but it's not like they'll hurt him, they far out power us and they know it, if they wanted him hurt, they'd do it already..." Bismuth said but it went ignored by all other than Steven.

"Well look at that, Bismuth: the Gem who hardly knows me, trusts me more than my own family! At least I can count on her...and you, right Amethyst?" Steven asked, turning to his sister.

"We'll find another way dude, this is just too much for you to be doing at your age, aren't you humans just supposed to just be... living life or something when you're kids?" Amethyst tried to convince him.

"You too Amethyst?..." Steven asked giving her a heartbroken look. "I-...I thought at least you of all people trusted me..."

"No, no, no! I didn't mean it like that! It's just, you're just a kid, this isn't your problem, this shouldn't be your problem." She explained, hoping he would understand.

"Well it is my problem!" He exploded in a fit on anger. "It's my problem because my mom made it my problem! Because she left me with ALL of her problems! An intergalactic war?! Check! Being blamed for the death of the leader of an entire race?! Check! Oh wait, she wasn't shattered?! Now I'm the son of a tyrannical war lord?! Check! She just had to have me and die didn't she?! Leaving me with three Gems that blame me for her being gone! Triple check on that one!! Oh, and let's not forget, she specifically left me with Pearl! The Gem who would sooner see me dead than deal with her Rose being gone! Remember?! You tried to pull my Gem out when you kidnapped me?! Or when you just let me fall off that cliff when I was trying to help you?! No, why would you care?! All you care about is getting back your stupid OWNER!!"

Steven immediately regretted that last part. "P-Pearl...I'm sorry, I just..."

"No...I understand...I haven't exactly been the mother figure that I should be..." she said, tearing up, looking like she was about to break into full blown sobs.

"No, Pearl... what I said was out of line...you're an amazing mother figure who is just having a hard time grieving, I understand, and I'm sorry... I know you loved mom, and would have done anything for her...but I also know that you love me too." Steven said as he embraced her.

"Of course we do Steven... we just...we want what's best for you, that includes keeping you safe here." She said, running her hands through his hair.

"But...I can fix everything. I know you think highly of mom, but she messed a lot of things up, if I have the chance to fix them...then I need to take it...right?"

"...Amethyst is right...Rose...she did make quite a few mistakes and that has unrightfully fallen on your shoulders unfortunately...do what you need to Steven, I'll support you." Pearl reassured him before looking to Garnet. "And Garnet will too,...right?"

Garnet just crossed her arms. "No. You will not go anywhere with Blue Diamond, I forbid it."

"But, Garnet, I could fix all of this, why don't you trust me?" Steven asked,letting go of Pearl. "What's wrong?"

"Steven, you know what Blue tried to do to Ruby! She was going to have her shattered! The fact that not only are you trying to redeem that, but you're trying to be her friend is just unfathomable to me, do you even know how that makes me feel?!" Garnet shouted uncharacteristically.

"You don't have to go! What about all of those corrupted Gems?! What about all the oppressed Gems on Homeworld?! What about their closure for Pink's shattering?! I promised Centi that we would cure her, I'm not going to go back on that promise because you are uncomfortable with me being around Blue Diamond!" He said turning to leave.

"Fine...go, but you're going alone." Garnet said before heading back towards the temple. "Pearl, Amethyst, and Myself are staying here, maybe some time with those tyrants and away from us will remind you who your true family is."

"What?! If Steven is going then so am I!" Amethyst argued, stepping up to Garnet, Pearl soon joining her. "Yeah, we aren't just going to let him go alone."

"No, you know what,...fine, I'll prove that I can handle myself, I'll go and fix everything she did on my own!" Steven said, accepting the challenge. "This has nothing to do with any of you anyway! I'll prove to you all that I can be trusted as a real Crystal Gem!"

Garnet didn't expect him to actually go after her bluff, but before she could turn back and stop him, he had already launched himself away from the house with his floating powers.

"STEVEN!" All four Gems called out to him as he left.

"Gems, we have to stop him!" Garnet ordered, rushing towards Steven and the Diamonds with the Gems in tow.

"We're leaving, right now." Steven said to the as he walked past the Diamonds and towards his mother's ship.

"Your little friends seem to want to join us, what about them?" Blue asked, seeing that the Crystal Gems were rushing towards them.

"No, we're going alone." He said, sending Garnet a slight glare. "Now... let's just get out of here...please?" He asked Blue, looking up to her with a tear in his eye.

"Y-Yes, of course." She said, lifting him up onto her shoulder. Before any of the Crystal Gems could even get close, they disappeared into the ship.

"Steven, come out here this instant! You can't leave with them!" Garnet demanded, slamming her gauntlets against the side of the ship, hardly leaving a scratch.

Steven didn't even acknowledge them as a pink aura enveloped him from the waist down. He then turned to his Diamond aunts. "How do I start this thing up?"

"Get a running start, it's not too hard. You sure you don't want to bring your Pearl with you? If you really have none of her memories, then you should have someone to show you what to do." Yellow offered, glancing at the hybrid while she propped her head up on her right hand.

"I'm sure,...I can do this by myself, I'll make sure I show them that much..." Steven said with determination before he began to run in place. Not three seconds later they were in the air.

Back on the beach, the Gems sat there, trying to convince themselves this wasn't happening. "No...I...I didn't see this as a possibility..." Garnet said, holding back tears.

"Well you should've! You're the one who told him to go alone, you put the idea in his head, and now we might never get to see him again!" Amethyst shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

Pearl just looked at Garnet with a glare. "She better hope we do...for her sake..." was all she said before letting a few tears slip as she ran back to the temple.

"I...I'm sure he'll be ok. This is Steven we're talking about. I hardly know the kid but if he's anything, he's charismatic, he won't have any issues with making friends there." Bismuth said, trying to cheer the fusion up.

Garnet said nothing as she just sat there in defeat. A minute or so went by before Connie came running onto the beach with her parents in tow. "Where's Steven? Why did the ship leave?!"

"He's gone Connie, Garnet got him upset and he went to Homeworld alone." Amethyst said bitterly.

"Alone?...He left me here again?!" She asked as she looked up at the sky. "Why does he always do this?!"

"This is about more than just you Connie, he left all of us, he's in space now with no food or water and he's all alone with the Diamonds, who cares if he left specifically you here again?" Amethyst growled, annoyed about how she was trying to make it about herself.

Before Connie could even argue, her mother stepped in. "I am so sorry about her, I don't know why she's behaving this way. Just please, try to get Steven home, I've grown fond of him myself and I would hate to see any parent- er...guardians with a child missing in space of all places, I wish the best of luck to all of you."

"...thanks..." Amethyst said, unable to really think of any other response to that.

Connie was about to speak up but Priyanka was quick to interject. "You apologize for your behavior this instant young lady."

"I...I'm sorry, I know this isn't about me and my reaction was...less than proper...I hope he comes home safe and soon..." Connie says before heading back to the car with her head down, her parents right behind her.

Amethyst was about to leave when Greg's new car came flying onto the sand. "I was packing for Steven, where is he?! Why are you still here and him and the ship are gone?! Why is my boy not with one of you?!"

"I'm done explaining for her, you can ask Garnet yourself, I'm going to my room." Amethyst spat, her voice laced with venom as she passed Garnet.

"Garnet? What is she talking about? What did you do?!" Greg shouted, loosing his patience.

"I...I messed up...bad. Steven left with the Diamonds alone after we got into an argument." She explained, still not getting up.

"He was insisting on going to Homeworld after I told him not to, and then I told him that if he was going, he was going alone, and I guess he didn't care if I was bluffing, because he left without us..."

Greg felt like he was about to have a heart attack, but instead of panicking and freaking out like he did when Jasper and Peridot came, he turned it into anger.

"You what?! You just let my kid go into space without anybody to keep him safe?! Is he even coming back?! Where the hell do you get off, sending him out there alone like that! You're lucky you're a powerful space lady or else I'd deck you right in the face right now!" Greg was more angry than she had ever seen him, he had never cursed before, nor had he ever threatened someone like that...she knew that she had messed up badly.

"I swear on Rose's proverbial grave, if he comes back with as much as a scratch, I will make sure you suffer for it." He growled before storming off to his car and slamming the door, falling into a sobbing mess the second he was out of sight.

-=Pink's/Steven's leg ship=-

-=Half an hour later=-

-=Steven/Yellow Diamond/Blue Diamond=-

Steven had let the ship fly itself after a while, it was now heading in the general direction of Homeworld. The hybrid sat in Blue's lap half asleep when he realized something: he's hungry.

"Um... so I guess it's best to explain more about myself now." Steven started, receiving a curious look from Blue and an actual answer from Yellow.

"Yes, I think you owe us an explanation as to what you are and why you have Pink's Gem..."

"Well, like I said, my mother, who you know as Pink Diamond, had a child with my dad...that child is me. She gave up her physical form so I could exist, and now she's gone... anyways, while I'm half Gem, I'm also half human, and I need to eat, drink, shower, use the bathroom, and all the stuff a human normally does. So is there any of that on Homeworld? Without it, I'll probably die." He explained.

"Oh, no I don't think we have proper accommodations for a human, I'll have some Gems go to the human zoo and bring some resources for you." Blue said, pulling up a holo-screen. She contacted some Gems in her court while Steven and Yellow conversed.

"I understand if you're upset at me or hate me and blame me for my mom's death...I know she meant a lot to you and I'm sure it hurt to get your hopes up only for your to be disappointed so much. I'd just like to say now, I'm sorry..." Steven apologized, not being able to find the will to even look at her.

"Pin-...Steven...look at me." She ordered in her usual strict voice, but with a hint of kindness to it. Steven glances up at here, tears threatening to fall. "You are a Diamond, you should never apologize for existing. Your mother had you because she wanted to, I'm sure even Pink would have her reasons for that. So no, I do not hate you for existing, I do not blame you for a decision your mother made, and I will never see you as the reason she is gone. That was her choice, and her choice alone, you do not have to ever apologize for her."

Steven couldn't hold back anymore, he jumped over to her and latched onto her, crying from the pent up sadness. He needed that, now more than ever. Blue just watched with a small smile, she hadn't seen Yellow like this in so long, Steven was really going to make things better again.

While Yellow knew what he was doing due to Pink doing it all he time, and while she would usually be annoyed by it, she didn't mind too much, she knew deep down that she needed it too.

After Steven stopped crying he fell asleep, they still had an hour before they would get there so Yellow allowed him to continue, even at one point showing her own little smile, even if for only a second.

Things were going to be better from now on...she knew he wasn't Pink and that he couldn't exactly replace her, but they didn't need to replace Pink, they just needed to fill the Diamond sized hole in their lives.

-=End Of Chapter=-

Well there you have it, Garnet screwed up because she was being selfish...oh well, now Steven is going alone, let's see how this changes things.

Yes, I didn't forget that this is a Spinel x Steven story, let me get that far before you complain please.

Anyway, as always, good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you again soon.


	2. Homeworld

Hello hello hello! How's it goin' readers, hope your having a good morning, night, or aft- wait...this is my intro, not my outro, what the hell am I doing?

**Now for you that are reading this here on HERE, not Wattpad, you guys have been extremely supportive, and I just love knowing that you actually enjoy what I'm writing and not just skimming over it if even that, so thank you, most might not think it, but comment really do motivate writers.**

**Also, I can't fix this non-bold text...I just copy my work that I first publish on Wattpad and put it here, Wattpad is honestly easier to use, but I know that most of the users here refuse to use it, so I just brought the story to you.**

Anyway, I hoped you liked the first chapter, the Spinel aspect might have taken longer than I'd like to come about, but I'd like to make my own plot and not rush it. If there is anything about a story that I hate, it's when the plot is rushed along, it can turn a really good story into less than mediocre. Despite this, I'll be skipping over what is mostly already cannon to the show, I'm sure you don't want me to write the rest of Change Your Mind and the Homeworld arc with only slight changes, so I'll do you a favor and skip that.

Anyway, that's not to say that my writing is anywhere near perfect, it's rare that I even use commas right ffs. I just pride myself on keeping the pacing of my stories at an acceptable rate...if I can help it.

Anyway, get comfy, grab a snack, and let's read. Yeah, that's my intro,...right.

-=Pink's leg ship/Homeworld=-

-=Steven/Blue Diamond/Yellow Diamond=-

-=Immediately after arrival=-

"Steven. Steven wake up." Yellow said, tapping the boy as soft as her large finger would let her. The hybrid child woke up with a yawn.

"Oh, are we there already?" He asked tiredly as he stood up and walked over to the area where he could see outside the ship. "Wow...it's even more beautiful than the last time I was here..."

Blue chuckled as she came up behind him. "Well you never really got to see anything other than the court room and whatever was below it after all."

"Yeah, I was kinda just hiding in the Kindergarten underground before I escaped back to earth." He explained, looking back at her.

"Oh yes, I actually assumed that you left on that Emerald's ship with those off colors. But they're still flying around and ruining our outposts, so I guess not. How did you get back?" Yellow asked as she stood up.

"Well, that human that went with me...he kind of died... but then I brought him back to life, which I guess my mom could do because she did the same thing for a lion on earth, and inside Lars' hair there is some kind of pocket dimension, and Lion has one too, and they are connected, so I used that to kind of teleport back home and...sorry, I'm rambling, you know what I mean..." Steven said, trying not to dwell on the fact that he was holding his friend's dead body in his arms not too long ago.

"Oh my...I'm sorry you had to go through that...because of us..." Blue apologized, looking away in shame, upset that her actions, no matter how indirectly, led to Steven having a friend die.

"It's ok... you guys didn't know what really happened to Pink, you thought I shattered her." He smiled with a shrug. "I'm not upset."

"But Steven, if you aren't your mother and you knew it, then why turn yourself in for her actions?" Blue asked, lifting him up as the three Diamonds left the ship.

"Well, I didn't know she was Pink Diamond. Pearl was physically unable to tell me because mom basically brainwashed her...so I turned myself in for what Rose apparently did, so I could fix everything...now that I think about it, I almost went off and died for something that not only I didn't do, but something she didn't do...I guess I can just add that to the list of things she has done to mess up my life despite being not even being alive." Steven contemplated how someone that he never even met in life, could mess up his life while she was dead!

"Yes, Pink never really thought out what the consequences of any of her actions would be. White usually just covered it up for her, she was extremely spoiled by her." Yellow sighed as she looked to White's ship. "Anyway, speaking of White, here comes something from her ship..."

A white sphere floated in front of them before opening to reveal a white Pearl standing in a T pose with a broken eye. "Hello Pink, White Diamond requests your presence."

"Good, let us do the talking, Steven, and we'll be out of there in no tim-" Yellow began, but was interrupted by the Pearl. "Just Pink Diamond's presence is necessary."

Before either Diamond could object, the monotonous Pearl floated to him and enveloped them in the white orb. "Wait-What are you doing?!" Steven shouted as they floated off back to White's ship.

The sphere dissipated, dropping Steven to the floor and leaving the Pearl floating next to him. He watched as she floated backwards and through the wall.

"What is this place?..." He asked himself out loud as he turned around. "Pink!" A echoing voice called in calm delight. His eyes landed on a blinding light of a woman that sent chills down his spine. "There you are."

"Hello, Starlight." She hummed with a sickeningly sweet voice. She was towering, even larger than Blue and Yellow, her presence just emitted power, he aura of her light was threatening to quite literally blind him. She had black nails, lips, and eyelids, her hair holding the shape of a star.

"...White Diamond..." Steven whispered in awe.

"You certainly gave everyone a scare, they're all just thrilled to see you safe and sound." She smiled, standing still as a statue in a T pose, similar to the Pearl he encountered before.

He cleared his throat nervously. He knew he had to be careful after how the others described her, this could be his only shot. "Hi, I-" she cut him off right away.

"As for this latest little game of yours, thank the stars it's over, did you have fun? Did you get it all out of your system?" She smiled, talking to the boy condescendingly.

He tried to speak up again, becoming more and more threatened by just looking at her the longer he was here. "I-"

"Good, good. Everyone is so relieved, welcome home Pink." Steven went to say something yet again, hoping that he wouldn't be interrupted this time, but unfortunately he was.

The white sphere that brought him here summoned around him again and before he could even realize what just happens he was being carried off. "Wait!

The sphere dissipated yet again, this time leaving him in an overly pink room. He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. "Where am I now?"

-=Skip over the whole pebbles thing=-

Steven laid on his new bed, it being surprisingly more comfortable than his own as well as wearing new cloths that were also surprisingly more comfortable than his old ones. Suddenly there was a knock at his door, scaring all the little pebbles back into hiding.

"Um, come in?" Steven called, wondering who would be coming for him, slightly hoping it was one of the other two Diamonds and not that white Pearl.

The door opened to reveal the Yellow Pearl. "Hello, my Steven, my Diamond requests your presence in her extraction chamber."

While it wasn't exactly one of the two Diamonds, he was grateful that he didn't have to deal with the intensity of White Diamond so soon. "Um, right, let's go."

"Sorry, but you will need these." She said, handing him a pair of pink shorts and a towel. "Your current uniform isn't made of light like my Diamond's is, you must remove it for the proper effects."

She held the door for him with a bow. "After you, my Steven."

"I- Uh, while I in no way mean to try and say the ways of your people are bad, I would rather you not call me by my Steven, just Steven is fine." He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Very well, Just Steven." She bowed again, taking his words as literal as she possibly could.

"No, call me- ugh, never mind, where are we going again?" He sighed walking next to her.

"My Diamond: Yellow Diamond, has requested that you join her in her extraction chamber, I predict that Blue Diamond shall request that you join her next, I'm no Sapphire, but she seems to have taken a liking to you as she did with Pink, I'm sure she would want to spend some personal time with you as well." Yellow Pearl explained in her usual nasally voice.

"Oh, but what exactly is this 'extraction chamber'? That sounds pretty scary actually..." Steven said, slightly nervous on what this intimidating Diamond wanted him to join her in. Was it some kind of extreme training room or something?! Would he even be able to handle what she has in store for him?!

"Well, we're here, you can see for yourself, I'm not sure how much clearer I can be other than saying extraction chamber." The Yellow Pearl said, stopping in front of a large yellow door.

Steven, needless to say, was very nervous. He looked over to the Pearl and steeled his nerves before opening the door and walking in.

To his surprise, he wasn't met some intense training, but ... a relaxing sauna?... "uh, hey Yellow, you called for me?"

"Oh, yes. How did things go with White, she didn't hurt you or anything did she? She has quite the temper after all..." Yellow asked, leaning over to look down to him.

"No, she didn't lay a finger on me, though I couldn't ask her about the corrupted Gems, in fact I couldn't even get a word in before she sent me to what I assume is my mom's room." Steven reassured her as he jumped up on the seat across from her. "So, not to sound rude if you really just wanted to spend time with me, but did you need me here for something?"

"Oh, yes. I assumed your first encounter with our dear sister wouldn't play out in your favor; you're just the offspring of the one she's looking for after all. No, we need you to make her like you. And well if you're anything like your mother, than it shouldn't be too hard." Yellow explained, leaning back and relaxing.

"Right...but how do I go about that? I mean last time I couldn't even say one word to her, she just kept interrupting." He groaned as he sat down.

"Yes, that's definitely how that would've worked out... Steven, she knows who and what you are, even if she calls you Pink. In her eyes, you are less than a Diamond, and White has sort of...how should I say...strict rules about talking to what she would consider...lower beings. You being organic makes you a lower being, but you still hold a Diamond after all, maybe if you get on her good side, she'll listen to what you have to say." Yellow plotted, thinking of how they could convince, White, of all Gems, to come to earth.

"I understand that much I guess, but that doesn't help me know how to get to her...any ideas?" He asked, looking over to the large Diamond.

"Hm... Blue should be entering her chambers not too long from now. I'm sure she knows a way or two to make White like you, ask her; I'm sure she'll ask you to join her as well." Yellow informed him as she stood up.

She walked out of the sauna with Steven right behind her, where they saw Blue Pearl waiting patiently. "Oh, hey Blue Pearl, I guess you're here to take me to Blue Diamond, huh?"

"Oh, you knew? As to be expected of the offspring of the beautiful and intelligent Pink Diamond." She said with a bow.

"Uh, I don't know about all that, you might be giving her more credit than she's worth...but I mean both Yellow Diamond and her Pearl told me that Blue would want me to come to her." He explained after making sure Yellow was out of ear shot. "Anyways, just call me Steven, all that 'my Diamond' stuff and 'my Steven' stuff makes me uncomfortable, so just address me like you would another Pearl I guess."

"..." she wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, she wanted to point out how wrong it was for a Diamond to put themselves on the same level as a Pearl, but on the other hand, she didn't want to say he was wrong, he was a Diamond after all. "U-um, please, do not think so lowly of yourself my Diamond, you have inherited your mother's throne and with it: her title."

"No, that's ok. I'd much rather you just call me by my first name and that alone. I'd personally like to think of us as somewhat friends, wouldn't you?" He asked, turning to her with a smile.

The quiet little Pearl tensed up and blushed a dark shade of blue. "Y-Yes...if that is what you wish...I'd like that very much..." she replied with a small smile of her own.

"Also, no more of that bowing to me stuff, friends don't do that either, got it?" The hybrid questioned, walking right next to her as they traveled to Blue's sector.

"Yes, I understand...Steven." She said with a slight nod. Her Diamond was Blue Diamond, so she was used to having a nice and merciful Diamond by now, but Steven was on an entirely different level, he actually treated her like an equal Gem and not like an object.

When they got to the large blue door that led to Blue's chambers, the blue Pearl went to open it for him, but he beat her to the punch and let her walk by as he held the door for her. She gave a small snicker as she passed him. "Thank you, Steven."

"Of course." He smiled as he followed her in. "Now where is Blue Dia-" He was interrupted by another set of doors swinging open with Blue emerging from them.

She looked around and the second she spotted Steven, she rushed to his side and lifted him up. "Steven, Yellow said you were ok, but I just had to see for myself, are you really ok, White didn't do anything, right?" She seemed to panic.

"No, Yellow was right, I'm perfectly fine." He assured the Diamond as he sat in her hand.

"Oh, that's such a relief..." She smiled as she brought him over to her tub. She set him down and let him float there as she sat down in the water herself. "So, how did it go? Is White going to help us with those poor Gems on earth?"

Steven sighed as he floated on his back. "No, I don't think so...she kept interrupting me when I tried to ask about it, and once she was done talking, she sent me off in her white bubble thing. I couldn't get a word in."

Blue hummed in thought. "Well, I guess we just have to make her like you, maybe then she'll listen to what you have to say."

"Yeah, Yellow said the same thing, in fact, I was supposed to ask you about how we could do that." He explained, swimming over to her.

Blue chuckled as she scooped him up. "You know...all four of us used to come here. We'd all get in together and we would play Pink's favorite little games, one of our personal favorite was the one where she would swim down to the bottom of the water and sing for us," she reminisced in delight. "we would have to guess the song she was singing."

"...You guys must really miss here, huh? I used to think you guys were monsters for what you did. Corruption, the Cluster, and the war. But, you didn't start the war, and you were fighting it right after your sister 'died', even I know, that grief will make anyone act in a way that they previously wouldn't." He sighed, thinking about just how bad it must've been to loose family.

"Yes, we were very...grief stricken. Pink meant everything to us, and she was taken away, just like that...we may have reacted in a way that hurt more Gems than the ones responsible for all of it, that's why I wish to fix what we did..." The emotional blue monarch sighed.

"Well we can do it, we just need White to be on our side. That's why I need your help Blue, you have to have an idea. You said that you all liked that music game that you played with mom, maybe something to do with singing will help?" Steven asked, hoping that they could find something to help the situation.

"Hmm...maybe not singing specifically, but Pink would always throw balls in the throne room, I know White always enjoyed that." Blue smiled.

"Throw balls? So like...juggling or something? I don't think I can do that." Steven questioned.

Blue just laughed at the hybrid. "No, not literally throw balls, but throw a ball. It's a grand party that has music and dancing. White very much enjoyed coming down to be apart of it. Steven, if you can throw a successful, grand ball, that could be a good first step to getting on her good side."

"I don't know, I've never done anything like that...well there was Garnet's wedding, but that was a party, you guys seem like the types to like more elegant parties, with slow dancing and fancy suits and dresses." The young Diamond ran his hand through his hair as he thought about how much he'd need to learn before he could even think about throwing a ball.

"That's all fine Steven, you may borrow mine and Yellow's Pearls, they can help with preparation." Blue said reassuringly.

"Right...yes, this could work, I can do this." Steven nodded as he hopped onto the side of the tub. "I'll get started right away."

-=one year later=-

-=The Diamond house=-

Steven's ball went off without a hitch! There was no unexpected hiccups to mess the whole thing up, and he was able to at least get White's attention.

Since then, Steven had grown close with Blue and Yellow and found a way to talk to everyone back home on a regular basis as well.

They used a face monitor that was sent to them by Homeworld to take him around town and talk to the people of Beach City, even Lars and the off colors, who had returned not too long after he left.

Though not all things went smoothly, he still had a rocky relationship with Garnet. She was too ashamed to try and be apart of the daily calls that the others would have with him and therefore they never got the chance to confront the issue that they left off with. Steven on the other hand felt that her avoiding him meant she hated him, so he too avoided her.

Steven himself was regretting taking on her little challenge, not only did he now think Garnet hated him, but he was lonely on Homeworld and it showed.

So today, on his fifteenth birthday, the Diamonds had a surprise for him. Blue, Yellow, and even White Diamond herself had looked into a certain Gem that Pink once had to keep her entertained and happy.

After finding out that she wasn't part of the rebellion, they came to the conclusion that she was still where they had put her.

"Oooh Steven!" Blue called for the hybrid. "We have something for you!"

Steven had told them how they could become closer as a family on Homeworld after seeing how his mother's absence had left them drifting apart. How would they become closer, you may ask? Well, Steven had a house made for them in a secluded part of Homeworld, that's how.

Now instead of living in that large castle that kept them so far apart, they lived in a moderately large house, even for beings as big as the Diamonds.

The hybrid had convinced them that they could become closer as a family if they were physically closer more often. Every one of them had their own room in a long hall, each being bigger than they needed to be if you asked Steven, but nevertheless, the family was actually bonding far better than before.

Blue and Yellow had become his Homeworld mother figures...and as for White...well she was also somewhat of a mother figure in a way.

The young Diamond had convinced White to help cure corruption amongst the Gems in the temple, though he purposely avoided Garnet, he made sure to spend time with literally everyone else in beach city including the corrupted Gems. After about a month, his house was rebuilt with another warp pad, this one being a galaxy warp that took him to and from Homeworld.

Now for nearly a year, he was primarily living on Homeworld with the Diamonds, trying to fix everything that Homeworld was responsible for. He even helped the Diamonds reconcile with a few alien races and now they had intergalactic alliances.

Needless to say: Steven had done a lot to help Homeworld. It was a hard conversation to have with his family, but they understood that he still had work to do. He was a Diamond now, he could use his influence on Homeworld for the greater good, though he did visit often, including earlier today when he went to celebrate his birthday on earth. Everyone came, even an awkward appearance by Garnet, but just seeing her attend the party was good enough for him.

Steven came out of his room, hearing his Blue aunt call for him. All three of the other Diamonds were sitting in the living room with furniture designed from earth furniture, it being actually soft and comfortable, much to the three eldest Diamond's liking.

"Yes, Blue?" He asked as he entered the room to see all three of them waiting for him. "Did I do something?..."

"Yes, you did in fact do something." Yellow said, hardly able to keep a straight face as she sat there with her arms crossed.

"I, um...what would that thing I did... be?" He asked nervously, hoping he didn't do anything that would have major consequences.

"You were born fifteen years ago today, Starlight, that's what." White hummed with a smile. She had taken to calling him his mother's old nickname, though he didn't mind that much.

"Oh geez." Steven chuckled with a sigh of relief. "I thought I messed up. Wait, how do you guys know that though?"

"That Pearl on earth told us that today was a special occasion for you and exactly what it meant for humans," Blue smiled.

"So, we thought we would go with your homes tradition and give you a gift. Well I guess it's a regift, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it nevertheless." Yellow nodded with a smile of her own.

"A gift? Oh no, you guys aren't trying to get me to own a Pearl again are you? I thought I made it clear that owning people isn't right, that's why I made you all stop ordering your Pearls to do things that they didn't want to, especially with you White..." Steven sighed.

"No, no, no, Steven, not a Pearl, and you won't exactly own her...you see, we can tell that you've been lonely here on Homeworld, so we did some digging and we came across your mother's old Gem, her name is Spinel and she's going to be your new best friend." White explained, her own blinding smile shining bright.

"My new best friend?..." this brought Connie to mind. She had become very popular in school recently and started going out with the kid who's arm she broke: Jeff. He was really upset at first, but he realized it was his own fault for missing the opportunity that was right in front of him for so long. He left her on earth again and went to Homeworld for three months without so much as a call directly to her.

"Yes, we predict that she is in the garden that we had built for Pink, though you may want to get there fast, the poor thing was left there all alone over six thousand years ago..." Blue informed him with a sad look.

Steven wasn't sure who they were talking about, but whoever it was, has been in isolation for that long, so he didn't think twice about going to help her.

-=Pink's garden=-

Steven was surprised that he was able to find this place after three different locations seeing as he had never been here before.

"Um, hello?!" He called out as he walked into the garden that was just floating through space. "I'm here to help!"

He kept walking until he came upon two foot-shapes marks in the ground. "Wha-"

Before he could say anything, he was tackled to the ground. "Who are you?"

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**So just again, thank you for the support, I'm glad you're enjoying this so far...well that's presumptive of me, but so far most of you at the very least enjoyed the first chapter.**

**Just so you know though, I am not the biggest fan of Connie. I honest to god enjoyed her character and how she was developing...until post wanted.**

**I'll keep it short and just say that I can't wrap my head around how she could even imagine them taking on Aquamarine without any casualties, or even with a thought of winning ffs!**

**Just the fact that she put Steven through a little mental breakdown despite being his supposed friend, well it made me think less of her.**

**Then there was his birthday. She clames to have no preference on how tall and mature looking he could be, but I mean...you saw how she was all over him when he was faking his new mature look...you haven't seen that side of Connie before then or since then.**

**Now I might be looking into it too close but I mean...it looks like she _does _prefer older Steven because after he's back to normal, so is her attitude towards him. He's back to being that childish friend who will never be anything more until he looks older again.**

**Oh, and don't even get me started on Pink, I hated her FAR before Spinel came along, this just helps all those Rose/Pink sympathizers see what I see.**

Anyway, once again, thanks for reading, and as always, good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.


	3. Spinel

**Hello reader! How's it goin'? I'm so glad that not only do y'all like the story so far, but I'm not getting a million toxic comments about my feelings on Connie...Pink on the other hand, well only someone who is basically on the same moral level of Pink Diamond would say she did nothing wrong, in fact I have a list of things that I hate about her on my Wattpad, made it there a while ago, but I'll put it here with some updates so you peolle that still support her can think on her actions.**

**Anyway, do you know what sucks about writing a story about your favorite ship or character? Well you can't read any other stories about said ship or character, because then, you'd end up subconsciously taking "inspiration" from said story and it'll just look like you're copying said story. So you know... PRAISE ME FOR MY SACRIFICE!**

**Only joking, I enjoy making this, and it gives those stories time to get more chapters in for when I do read them.**

**Anyway, get comfortable, grab some snacks, and let's read.**

**-=The garden=-**

**-=Right where we left off=-**

**-=Steven and his attacker=-**

"Who are you?" The Gem that had jumped on him asked.. The hybrid began to squirm and try to escape, leading to his attacker wrap...rubbery pink rope around him?...

Steven knew that he could probably break out with his strength alone, he had been doing much training for the past year after all, but he also knew that would just escalate the situation, and that's the last thing that he needed.

"M-my name is Steven- Steven Universe!" He quickly spat out as he stopped struggling.

"...what are you?" She asked, this sounding a lot more curious than anything.

"I-it's a long story..." He chuckled, trying to get a glimpse of what this Gem looked like, but to no avail.

"I've been sitting in one spot for six thousand years...I have time." She said, her voice dull and annoyed at the thought of him calling anything long. (Time wise you pervs)

"Um-if you say so... well I guess we start off with the most important thing: I'm half human and half Gem." He began.

"Human?...what is that?" She asked, his bonds loosening up and letting him breath properly.

"I think I've just been called "organic creature" quite a few times, but I don't know if that explains what a human is to you." He explained, not sure how to describe what a human was to someone who doesn't even know what a human is in the first place.

"Oh...you're organic...and you have a gem? That's pretty neat." She said, he could feel her hand rub against his gem, as if to inspect it.

"Yeah...anyways, that wasn't really too hard to explain if I didn't really get into who my mom is, I guess." He chuckled slightly.

"Your...'mom', what's that?" She asked, completely letting him go. Steven stretched his arms, but didn't turn over, as she was still sitting on his back.

"It's someone who brings you into the universe, she creates you I guess. My mom gave up her physical form so I could exist...not to say she didn't leave me with a handful of problems, and hurt many people, but I'm working on fixing her mistakes, which is actually why I came here in the first place." He told her.

"Her mistakes? Wait, what does your creator have to do with Pink's garden?" She asked, not exactly finding his story plausible. "...and...speaking of Pink...have you seen her?...Is she...happy?... Does she look like she would have time to...come back?" She asked, now sounding like she was in the verge of tears.

Steven felt his heart sink, he could already tell this Gem really cared about his mother, and even if she abandoned her here for six thousand uninterrupted years, she was still trying to see if she was okay.

"I-..." Steven thought of lying and saying anything to comfort her, but he knew that would only lead to more issues. "Well, I sort of... am Pink Diamond now. She was my mother...you know, the one who gave up her physical form to make me?"

He felt drops of water hit his back and soak through his cloths. He tried to turn around, but he was yanked by his hair as she started to shout. "No, you're lying! She-she can't be gone, she still hasn't even finished our game yet!" She cried.

"Ah-What game?!" Steven asked, trying his best to keep his hair from being ripped out.

"She told me- she told me to stand right here, she told me we were playing a new game- what was I doing wrong, why isn't she here?!" The Gem shouted, Steven could feel that the back of his shirt was now soaked with what he assumed were her tears. (They are tears, stop encouraging R34.)

"I-I'm sure she didn't mean it, she was fighting a war against Homeworld for the planet earth, she faked her shattering and lived with her friends on earth for the past few thousand years!" He tried to explain.

"She...so she really did abandon me?..." she let him fall face first to the ground. "But...why? What did I do wrong?" She sobbed.

"...mom was a bad person...she hurt many people, that's why I came here, so I could help one of the people she hurt." Steven said while rubbing his hurt nose.

He felt the weight leave his back and could hear the soft footsteps backing away slowly. "No...you liar...no, I won't believe it, she wouldn't leave me here. She's going to come back...she's not gone!"

Steven jumped up quickly and turned around. The Gem he had been talking to was in a horrible state. She had plants growing on her, dirt marks on her, and her eyes...they showed pain...betrayal. Her pink and white clothing was tattered as well. "What? No, she's gone, but I'm here to help fix what she did."

He was sticking to the plan, if he was going to help her, he would have to be honest, even if it hurt her emotionally for some time, he would be there for her.

"...no..." her form began to glow, her heart-shaped gem flipped upside down slowly as her for began to change. Once the light was gone, he could see her new look.

The torso of her last form was white, but now it was replaced by a darker, almost black shade of pink, her shoulders now sporting should pads, her shorts now longer, and her shoes now sharper and going higher up her legs.

Her face had changed as well. The tears from before had turn into running mascara streaks, three on each side. Her hair had also changed, now her pigtails were more loose and looked like actual hair, unlike her heart-shaped ones from before.

"It's not your fault! She left everything to go fight her war, I'm sure she didn't specifically mean to leave you behind." He tried to comfort her, but she wasn't having it. Her limbs stretched in a rubber hose animation like way before she sent a fist flying right into his face.

Steven was pushed back pretty far and now had a bloody nose from this attack. "No-stop lying! I was Pink's best friend! She wouldn't just leave me like that! Not for some stupid planet!"

Steven was honestly surprised that she was catching on to the whole 'I'm a Gem that was related to your mother, so now you have to die' role so fast, but what else should he have expected...

He pulled out two shields and waited for another attack. "No, she...she wasn't coming back from earth. I don't know why she couldn't swallow her pride and have the Diamonds help fix stuff, but she wasn't going to do that, she had thousands of years to do it."

"No! She was coming back, I refuse to believe anything you're saying!" She shouted, sending another fist his way, only for him to block the attack with his shield.

Steven could hardly rationalize what she was saying. His mother left her here, abandoned in this run down garden for so long, how could she still want her back...that's when Steven got an idea. He needed her to realize that what his mother did was wrong, he couldn't let her turn out like Pearl was: following a dead master that hurt her.

He didn't want to make the poor Gem feel like she was abandoned, but that was the only way he could think of to help her, the only way that the healing process could begin, he had to tell her of all his mother's misdeeds so she wouldn't put it above her to abandon her.

"Why do you think so highly of her? She was far from perfect, she ruined so many lives!" Steven argued as he blocked another attack.

"NO! Pink was the nicest, most perfect Gem in all of the universe!" She shouted as she began to barrage him with attacks, none quite hitting their target.

"She started a war for a planet and lied to her followers about who she was! She disguised herself as a Rose Quartz, and used the Gems who followed her as steppingstones to get what she wanted, using lies and fake promises of freedom, only for them to be corrupted! She could have gone to the Diamonds to save what is probably hundreds if not thousands of Gems, stuck in their own metal HELL!" Steven informed her, his own feeling on his mother stirring up.

"So what?! That's what Gems are for! They do EVERYTHING in the name of their Diamond, if they end up getting hurt because of it, that's ok too, because it was all for their Diamond!" The pink Gem shouted, not taking a moment to breath as she kept attacking.

"That's not how Homeworld works! The Diamonds are supposed to look out for their Gems, I should know, I've lived there for the past year, I know how Gems are really treated! They aren't manipulated, they aren't just getting shattered left and right, and they don't suffer for the sake of their Diamond! But you know who had to go through all that?! The Gems That PINK manipulated into fighting for her!" Steven ranted.

"You know who else suffered for her actions?! ALL THE ROSE QUARTZ SOLDIERS!! All of them! They're all bubbled in the human zoo that SHE owned! And do you know why she never thought to tell anybody about them?! Because she expected them to be shattered when the zoo closed down, she expected them to DIE for something they had nothing to do with!" He shouted, walking towards her.

Spinel was backing away, still throwing attacks every chance she got. "W-well...that's not her fault! Why are you even berating your creator, that treason at the highest degree!"

"Why am I berating her?! Because all of this is true, because she is BAD! She started a war and got everyone hurt in a way that would make her have to go to HER OWN SISTERS for it to be fixed, but she didn't, she was too prideful, and just left those that she promised would be free to live their lives, in bubbles! They're all corrupted because of her, you have no idea what being some mindless beast who can't even remember what they're supposed to look like, would even do to someone!" He shouted as he started to approach faster.

"To be driven to hurt other because you're scared and confused...actually, no, you know exactly what that part is like, you're living that right now! You're trying to hurt me because you are being thrown into this new reality where Pink is the bad guy...you don't know how to cope so you respond with violence and denial...but I can help you, just let me try." He offered as he stopped fighting, as did the pink Gem.

"...you have no idea how I feel...you could never understand what I'm going through..." she glared as she began to cry again.

"That's where you're wrong...I know exactly what you're going through. All my life, I've been told just how an amazing mom was... 'Rose Quartz would've been able to fix this' 'if Rose was here, she'd be able to handle this.' 'If only Rose was here, she'd know what to do' 'Steven, your mother was an amazing and perfect Gem, I just know you could be like her.' " he reflected on the lies he was told about his mother.

"All my life, I've lived in her shadow, everyone expected me to be just as good if not better than her, and I was always stressing to become better, so I could fill the hole that I created when I was born... I tried so hard every day to to become more like Rose, more of what they expected me to be, not to mention I was left with the weight of having to atone for her 'shattering' Pink Diamond...or as I said, pretending to shatter Pink Diamond because she was Pink Diamond." He explained, tears in his eyes

"It felt good, knowing she wasn't so great, she was a horrible person that ruined many lives...including mine. Then I thought about how I had been told how perfect she was, how I had to live up to this impossible standard, when not even SHE could live up to those standards. I've lived my life, running from an alien race that wants me dead for something that not only I didn't do, but for something my MOM didn't even do. So yeah, I know how it feels, we thought she was this an amazing person who actually cared for us...but in the end, we were wrong. That's why I want to help you, you and everyone she's wronged, because I know how it feels to be wronged by her too. I know that what I've been through can't even began to compare to what you've been through...but... I'm here to help you, not hurt you. I've changed my motives since then. I no longer want to be like my mom, I want to be her opposite, I'll help people, I'll fix her mistakes, and I'll be a better leader than she ever was...and if you'll let me, I'll be a better friend than she was too." He offered, holding his hand out to the Gem that was trying to hold back her tears.

She looked at his hand and slowly took it before enveloping him in a hug, sobbing into his chest. Steven held her close, letting her just be there, he knew she needed it, he knew she needed a friend. "And I'll make sure you'll never be alone again..."

-=End Of Chapter=-

oh, but my naive little friend, you two shall be so much more than friends! I think this is the beginning of something beautiful.

Now I know that this chapter is relatively short, and it only took me like an hour or two to write, and half an hour to edit, but if I let them go back to the Diamonds right now, then I'll be pushing this chapter too far, and I'll be trying to find a quick way to close the chapter, and as I said, I try not to rush the story...even if this feels slightly rushed...

Also, I feel like this is a perfect ending to this chapter, not sure how I would end it if I took them back to Homeworld right now.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and as always, good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you again soon.


	4. Welcome-To-Erra-Three

**Hello everyone, I haven't really had the time to write recently, more so my fault because I kinda spent the past few days catching up on some anime, but it's late at night, I've finished two series, and I'm ready to write.**

**Now, I would like to say: go watch Code Geass as soon as you can. I know at first glance it's not exactly all that interesting, but it's truly a work of art! I personally enjoy anime where the protagonist relies more on his or her own knowledge and tactics rather than those where they're some badass fighter, especially when they're at least a little psycho and evil. If you are interested in that kind of anime, than this is the one for you, it's on Netflix as far as I know.**

**Anyway, enough of me weebing out, get comfy, grab some snacks, and let's read.**

**-=The Garden=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

**-=Thirty minutes after the last chapter=-**

Steven had let this new Gem cry out her emotions that she had built up over the past six thousand years, he knew she needed at least that much, though she ended up just leaning on him and watching the stars pass by after a while.

"You know...I sat here...just watching everything pass by, wondering if she was ever coming back...or if anyone was coming at all. Honestly, I gave up almost a thousand years ago...I thought that I was destined to spend all of my existence, floating through the endless space around us..." Spinel spoke up after not speaking a word since she broke down in tears.

"I was so happy when I heard the warp pad activate, I thought she had finally came back to me...but then...there you were. A stranger intruding in her garden. So I hid, I thought that if there was an intruder, there shouldn't be a problem with me moving, then I thought that since you were intruding, I had full right to attack and ask a few questions...about her."

"Spinel...are you ok?" Steven asked as he looked over to her. He scoffed and facepalmed. "Of course you're not, you just figured out that you were left here by my mom..."

She just sighed and shook her head. "No...it's fine. I spent all those years wondering if it was my fault...if I did something bad...if I was bad. To be honest, after the initial shock and wave of emotions...I guess I feel better than I would if she was still around on Homeworld. At least I know she isn't just sitting somewhere and enjoying life, knowing that she left me here...at the same time though, at least I have some closure now...at least I have...you, right?" She asked, a sad smile forming as she looked over.

"Yes, of course you do. I promise, I'll help you make up for all that lost time. From now on, I'll do my best to fix what my mother did to you; to fix you, I swear." Steven responded as he squeezed her hand firmly.

Spinel felt a warmth in her Gem; a spark that had been extinguished for a thousand years had now been relit. It wasn't going to be easy, she knew that much, but she decided to put her trust in him anyway. "Thank you...Steven."

Steven chuckled slightly as he stood up. "Of course, what are friends for?" He said, helping her to her feet. "Now, would you like to get out of here? Homeworld has apparently changed a lot in the past six thousand years, and much more from that in the past year alone, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Spinel took one look at the garden, her eyes landing on the exact spot where she stood for the past six millennia. She hated it here, everything about this garden was just a constant reminder of the pain she felt, down to the last dead flower. Without the slightest hesitation she looked to him and said, "Yes, let's go."

Steven lead her to the warp and without so much as a second glance behind them, he took her home.

**-=The Diamond house=-**

**-=The Diamonds/Steven/Spinel=-**

**-=continued=-**

The bright light of the warp faded away, leaving the two Gems standing there, hand in hand. "So, before we do anything, you should probably see White, Yellow, and Blue, just so there won't be any issues later on."

Spinel looked over herself in panic. "I can't let them see me like this! My purpose is to be an overly happy best friend for Pink Diamond, who knows what the punishment will be if they see me this way!"

"Hehehe," Steven couldn't help but chuckle. "This is serious!" She shouted

"It's ok Spinel, things are different now, you can for the most part be whoever you want, even Pearls aren't servants anymore...though we do have to find a way to stop other Gems from being so discriminatory against them. Anyway, you can be whoever you want, especially with me by your side."

Spinel was a bit hesitant, she never spent much time outside the garden, but the rules were always clear, and this was in clear violation of those rules. She turned to Steven, who gave her a reassuring nod. "That's right...I'll put my trust in him." She thought to herself.

"Okay Steven, I'll go see the Diamonds." She said, returning the nod. The teen was glad that she agreed to see them, as he knew it would cause problems later on otherwise, her being just about unrecognizable from the form she had in the garden when he first saw her.

"Okay then, right this way," He said, leading her out of his room and towards the living room where the Diamonds were last seen. "Just wait right here, I'll introduce you."

Steven went around the corner while Spinel waited there, feeling a sense of dread come over her. She knew this was different, he was only going around the corner, but she couldn't help the anxiety that was building up.

"Hey guys!" Steven waived to the other Diamonds. "I'm back from the garden."

"Oh Steven, welcome back! Did you find her? I assume you have now that you're all cheerful again." White smiled as she leaned forward in her seat.

"Well I wasn't really sad or anything earlier, I don't think so at least." He shrugged, thinking back to earlier. "In fact, I just came home from a party with my friends and family, there's no way I was looking at all upset."

"Well it's more about how you've been...well you aren't as open to other as you used to be, you stopped trying to make friends with everyone and you spend most of your time in your room. Sure, you have been doing better since whatever happened back then, you haven't been spending every second of every day in there, but you're still so distant, we were just worried for you, that's all." Blue spoke with a motherly tone.

"I'm sorry if I worried you guys, I've just had a lot on my mind lately. I was actually able to vent out lots of those thoughts just now, thanks to-"

Spinel couldn't take it anymore, the conversation had shifted, had he forgotten about her? She rushed out from behind the wall and to his side.

Steven was surprised about her showing up before her introduction considering how anxious she was about the Diamonds. "Hey Spinel, I guess you didn't need an introduction to come out after all, good for you." He smiled.

"No, it's just- you were talking to them and you told me to stay all the way back there, I just didn't want to be alone, I'm sorry." She apologized for going against the original plan.

"It's ok Spinel, it was just so you'd be more confident about coming out in front of the Diamonds. Anyway, this is Spinel guys, she'll be living here with us from now on." Steven said, turning to the confused Diamonds.

"Hello, my Diamonds." She smiled nervously, using her stretchy limbs to make a triple diamond salute.

"Hmm, are you sure that's her? It's been a while but I'm pretty sure she didn't look like this last time we saw her. Steven, did you destabilize her or something?" Yellow commented, turning to her hybrid nephew.

"Come on Yellow, you know I don't do that. No, she chose to look this way, I guess it just has to do with her emotions, what mom did must've really messed with her." He sighed, turning back to her.

"No, no, i-it's fine my Diamonds, six thousand years is nothing, I- well I could do that on my head." She said, putting on a smile as she did a handstand to demonstrate, tapping her feet together.

Yellow just laughed at her antics. "She's right, that is nothing! I like this Gem."

"Yes, she's very nice." Blue agreed with her own little smile.

"What about you Starlight, what do you think of her?" White asked the young Diamond, Spinel standing upright and looking to him for his answer as well.

"I like her too, that's why she'll be staying with us from now on." Steven informed them of their new housemate.

Needless to say, the Diamonds were surprised about this new development, as was Spinel. "But Steven, this house is for us, to bring us together, right? Anyways, what about the garden, wouldn't she want to go back?" Blue questioned.

Steven glances over to Spinel, she had a nervous and uncomfortable look on her face, her hands behind her back where she was wringing her fingers, and she was shifting from foot to foot. "No, definitely not. I want her to stay here with us."

"Steven, there's just simply no room for her, where would we even keep her?" White asked, unsure where they could make room for another Gem.

Steven raised a brow as he gestured towards the massive amount of room the house had. "Oh come on, this place is huge, we can make enough room for her to have her own room."

"You must remember, we are very large compared to you, we need more room than you think." Blue reminded him. "There is no room for another Gem in this house."

Steven could tell Spinel was getting more and more anxious about this by the second, she obviously didn't want to go back, but she didn't want to intrude on the Diamonds of all Gems either. "Fine then, my room is huge in comparison to me, she can stay there if she wants to sleep, other than that, there is more than enough room."

The Diamonds glanced at each other for a little bit before seemingly coming to a silent agreement.

"Hmm, I guess we may have over done your room, yes. Fine, if you all are ok with it then I guess there aren't any issues with your little friend staying here." White agreed, turning to the other Diamonds.

"I don't see why not, if Steven isn't so lonely then I say we should let her stay." Blue nodded, just wanting her illegitimate son to be happy.

Yellow just shrugged. "Sure, I guess it's better than taking in a Gem we are completely unfamiliar with."

Steven breathes a sigh of relief as she visibly relaxed. "Thanks guys, we are both grateful for you letting her stay, right Spinel?"

"Yes, thank you all for letting me stay here with you." Spinel nodded, agreeing with the small Diamond.

"Wait here for a second, I'll be right back." He told Spinel, who wasn't as anxious about him leaving as before due to the Diamonds being there, but nevertheless still not happy about it.

The hybrid came back after maybe ten seconds, putting on a red hoodie that sported a star.

"We'll see you later guys, I'm going to take Spinel out to see new Homeworld." Steven waved as he lead Spinel back to the warp pad.

"Good bye Steven." They all said in unison as they waved to him. "Come home soon."

"So Spinel, I guess you'd like to know what all has changed here, huh?" Steven asked, turning to the pink Gem as they warped away.

"Well, I've only ever seen this place when I was on my way to the garden, since then I haven't really seen anything else. It was kind of a straight journey from my kindergarten to the garden, that's kind of where I've been since I was made." She admitted as the stream dissipated, leaving them at a central hub in the middle of Homeworld.

Steven pulled his hood up as to not gain the attention of the Gems around them. "Well at least you won't have to readjust to the technology I guess, but there's still Homeworld customs that have changed. Like, you can no longer own another Gem, not even a Pearl, all Gems are equal. We are also having a service fee system created based off of earth's currency system." He explained as he walked her through Homeworld's capital city.

The Diamonds had agreed to change things around here after Steven put his foot down, but they looked to him for guidance, and he wasn't exactly experienced in building an entire civilization...so he turned to Connie for help. That's when he realized that they were no longer close friends anymore.

Steven realized that he left her here on earth and went off to Homeworld for a year, but he never thought she would all together just stop hanging out with him outside of training and Gem stuff, he even brought her to Homeworld to try and make up for it, but she didn't seem to enjoy it all that much.

She was able to get along with him long enough for her to teach him how a proper currency system should work and gave him a few resources to study on how a government should be ran, but they haven't really talked much since that.

He knew that his decision to go alone was probably not a good one, but he was just so upset at Garnet at the time. He tried to explain everything to Connie, but she didn't seem to care, all she had to say say was, "If you're just going to keep leaving me behind every time you have an important mission, all of this training I've devoted myself to is for nothing."

"Ever since I met you, I've let go of the idea of making friends in my school, why would I need all that when I have all these crazy magical adventures to go on with my best friend? But my dad has been assigned here permanently, I can make friends that I won't just leave in a month, and that won't leave me for nearly an entire year. I've actually already made lots of friends, I even have a boyfriend now, his name is Jeff, I'm sure you remember him."

Steven kept on a happy face for her, congratulating her for making all these friends and finding love...but after he got back to Homeworld, he stayed in his room for nearly a week straight, only coming out to eat once or twice a day.

After that, he forced himself to put on a happy face for the sake of Homeworld, he needed to start fixing things here. Now a month later, he had implemented the currency system on Homeworld and started to change, abolish, and creat some laws. He got a lot of work done and now he genuinely felt a lot better about the Connie situation, especially after today when he was able to vent out his feelings on his mother.

"What's a service fee? How would any human, or really any organic's ideas help a race of beings like Gems? No offense." Spinel questioned staying close to him as to not get lost in the crowd.

"None taken, and it works like this: on earth, we have stuff called money, depending on how much you have, you can by material items, or pay for services if you don't want to or can't do something yourself. You can buy food, cloths, and a whole bunch of stuff. Now we call them service fees here because Gems don't typically need materialistic items, they don't eat, they can shape shift cloths and hair, and we don't really have any games being made here yet. But what they can use, is help from other Gems."

He began to explain.

"So, let's just say a Pearl needed a bodyguard, or really any service. She could give her currency to maybe a Quartz and they would do what she needed them to do depending on the price. Now we plan to implement it into the world for more than services, but for now, that name is just a placeholder. We will begin to sell technology and ships in exchange for these service fees. I also plan to bring video games here, but I feel we should fix things with all the other alien races before we worry about games."

"It sounds complicated, how would 'hiring' a Pearl, be any different than just owning one?" Spinel asked, confused on the whole concept.

"Well now Pearls would be getting service fees, meaning they would be rewarded for their work, unlike before, where they were expected to work whether or not they wanted to." He tried to elaborate for her.

"Oh...yeah, I think I sort of understand. So no one owns anyone, there are rewards for your work, and Gems can be who they want and look however they want." She went over everything she had been told.

"Yep, welcome to era three." He grinned with a small laugh. "Now we should probably go to that tower over there, I guess it's some kind of worshipping building for the Diamonds, some Gems have chosen to still look at us as gods I guess, even if we tell them we aren't perfect. Anyway, it won't bee too crowded there, plus we could get a better look of Homeworld." He said, pointing to the tallest building in the area.

They began walking towards it, Steven making sure to keep his head down as there were still many Gems that chose to see the Diamonds as perfect beings around here, and he didn't want that kind of attention, especially around Spinel.

Thinking about Spinel, Steven looked back to check and see if she was still there...she wasn't.. "Oh no, this can't be good..."

He walked back through the crowd of Gems, keeping his eye out for anything pink. He had to make sure he found her soon incase she started to have some sort of breakdown, he could tell she had some issues from what his mother, he just didn't know if she would be ok getting separated in a crowd or not.

Well he got his answer when he came upon her, she definitely didn't like it. Spinel was seen pacing around trying to find him with tears in her eyes and her fists gripping her hair. "Spinel, I'm right here!" He called over to her, raising a hand.

She turned around to see him before rushing over. "W-What happened, where did you go?" She asked as she grabbed his hand tightly.

Steven realized her specific condition to be separation anxiety. There was an anime that he had recently watched, the protagonist brother and the protagonist sister had this condition to the point that they couldn't even be separated by so much as a closed door without having panic attacks, though they never really worked it out. **(Tell me if you knew what I was referring to before you get to the end)**

"It's ok, we just got separated by the crowd.

He grabbed her hand before pushing through the crowd and towards their destination.

He brought the pink Gem to the very top of the tower, where they overlooked the capital that was still being built. "Well, this seems like it will be the highest we can go in the capital without going straight for the palace, but I'd like to keep a low profile and not go there. I know that there aren't any special landmarks yet, or any fun places to go, but I can just take you to earth for that."

"Earth...you said something about a war for that planet, I only caught some of it, what happened there?" Spinel asked as she overlooked the capital.

"Oh, well that's actually a long story, I guess I'll start with what I've been told, when Pink got her own planet." Steven began.

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**This one was more so to fill in what happened with Connie and Steven, and to establish that Spinel dose in fact have separation anxiety. **

**Now Steven probably wouldn't know that, thats even a thing, so I just used my absolute favorite anime as an example. Did you guess it? No Game No Life, it's an amazing anime/manga that absolutely needs a season 2 for the anime, I also suggest you check that one out, it's on Crunchyroll which you can get for free by downloading AppValley on your mobile device. You get it from your browser and it gives you apps that are I guess hacked or whatever. **

**But I digress. Her having this separation anxiety in this story is based off of the part in the movie where Steven tried to leave her with the others while he went after Amethyst, but her subconscious kicked up that separation anxiety that was caused by her being left in the garden and apparently not erased when she was reset. Her eyes went wild like when she's in her newest form and her face went dark as she got mad.**

**Now mix that with the fact that Steven came to her rescue instead of just being on screen not even acknowledging her, she would want to be with him at all times, she never wants to be alone again and she's attacked herself to him... metaphorically of course.**

**Also, I believe that she was manipulated into wanting to attack him and the earth by whoever gave her that injector and rejuvenator, so take them out of the equation and just give her a shoulder to cry on for nearly an hour and she no longer has this hate, though she is still filled with sadness.**

**And I'll just address this now so you don't think I'm just filling plot holes. Spinel in the movie did say that six thousand years were nothing and she could do it on her head, true, but just think about it: she's sitting in front of the Diamonds, her issue being caused by Pink Diamond, of course she'll act strong in front of them! **

**Six thousand years is a long time for her, why else would she be attacking Steven like that?**

**Sure, Yellow did agree that it was nothing, but she's a Diamond! One of the first Gems ever created, of course six millennia would be nothing to her, I'm sure she's lived for tens of thousands of years, six is such an insignificant number at that point.**

**Now Spinel on the other hand? She was created for Pink Diamond and kept in that garden. I say she was alive for one millennium at max before she was abandoned, therefore six more would be a long time. A long, agonizing hell for that poor Gem...**


	5. New-Friends—A-Warm-Feeling?-

**Hello everyone, I'm back with a new chapter, and as I start this right now, I have no idea what the story of this chapter will be, so that's fun.**

**Also, I'd just like to say that I really do appreciate all the nice reviews, votes, and follows for this story, even just the readers who skim over the text and go on to the next story, because even you help this story be known.**

**Now I don't want to seem like I'm only doing this for views and such, I'm really not, I do enjoy all the stuff I publish, and I just enjoy knowing that my hard work is getting seen and enjoyed...well hard work for me, I have a $#!y imagination so it's not so easy for me, hell, you'd laugh your ass off if you got to see the first draft of each chapter.**

**For example, this was originally much shorter and didn't have all that much fluff in it at all, I added that in when editing.**

**Or even chapter three, which originally had Spinel mad at Steven for him taking Pink away, but I felt that didn't really reflect her character or the story I wanted to write, plus it's over used with Pearl. And now you have what chapter three is now, something that I'm actually happy with...what was I originally going on about, again?...**

**Oh yeah! So yes, I do appreciate you all for reading this story, it gives me inspiration to write and try to keep the story from coming to a standstill.**

**Anyway, sit back, relax, grab a snack, and let's read.**

**-=Homeworld Capital City=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

**-=After Steven tells the story of his mother's war=-**

"-and that's basically all there is to know I guess." Steven finished, having just explained how the war for earth went to his new pink friend.

"I see...that sounds terrible, the mass grave of shards forced into one huge fusion, the corruption, all of it. I guess I should be somewhat grateful that I wasn't involved in that." Spinel spoke, taking in all of what Steven had just told her.

"Yeah, war is a pretty horrible thing, but now stuff is changing, I'm trying to make it so we are a peaceful race, that way no one ever has to go through that again." He explained, looking over the busy streets of the capital.

"But do you think everyone is happy with theses changes? Quartz Soldiers are meant for fighting, I'm sure they aren't exactly enthusiastic about peace." Spinel questioned, glancing over to him.

"Yeah, we thought of that. They're still on hold for any military action we may need to take, but they all mostly got jobs as law enforcement. Speaking of which, the new laws of Homeworld are pretty simple, and should be easy to uphold," he explained.

"No Stealing from other Gems, no shattering other Gems unless you have the authority and the law deems it necessary, no forcing Gems into fusion, no destruction of property, no blackmailing, no terrorism, do not start fights outside of an agreed upon duel, that is held in a safe place under the supervision of proper law enforcement, trying to access military property without proper authority is forbidden, no discrimination against other Gems just because of what their gem is, and well, the list continues, but I won't bore you with the details right now, we'll get you adjusted with the handbook that we gave all Gems after making these laws."

Spinel tried to keep up with all these new laws but just trying to make room in her mind for all this at once made her head spin. "That's a lot of new rules to follow, what happens when they're broken?"

"Well, you will be given a fair trial, and the non-biased Judge will decide your punishment. It's a lot like your old trial system, but now there is a jury made up of multiple Gems, the Judge is to only to choose a punishment if the jury finds the Gem in question guilty, and there aren't as many shatterings, just being put behind a destabilization shield for whatever amount of time the judge decides." He explained how punishments worked around here now. "Shattering is actually very rare, and it really only happens half the time when the Gem has shattered other Gems."

"Well I can make sense of that at least." Spinel sighed, looking over new Homeworld.

"While we're here, would you like to go around and meet some Gems?" He offered. "I'll have to bring us a little further away from this tower though, I don't want the Gems that made a religion from me and the Diamonds seeing me, they kind of make me uncomfortable."

"Oh, sure, as long as I'm not getting in the way of anything." Spinel agreed with a smile. "I'd like to meet more Gems I guess, my purpose in life is to make friends after all."

"Alright then, hang on to me." Steven instructed, lifting the pink Gem in his arms, bridal style.

This caught Spinel by surprise, but she did as she was told and wrapped herself around him with her rubber-like arms. "What are we doing now?"

"Heh, watch this." Steven grinned as he got a running start towards the end of the roof.

"W-wait, slow down, we're heading right for the edge!" Spinel panicked as she held on tighter, closing her eyes and waiting to fall.

Steven jumped right off the side of the roof, launching them far away from the building, the wind pulling his hood off of his head.

Spinel slowly opened her eyes to see that they weren't really falling, but they were soaring through the air. She looked down to see the colorful lights of the capital fly by under them like a sea of light. "You can...fly?"

"Well, not really fly, but float, I just propelled us forward with all my strength so it would get us to the less active areas faster." He explained, keeping his eyes straight ahead, looking for a place to stop.

Spinel looked up to him with a small sparkle in her eye, that warm feeling returning to her Gem as she pulled herself closer to him, looking away with a blush as he glanced down at her.

"Alright, here we are, there shouldn't be enough people to get us separated again, and 'the followers' won't be as frequent." Steven spoke as they slowly lowered to the ground.

Not long after their dissent, two Gems recognized him, luckily enough they weren't followers, but friends that he made not too long ago.

"Oh, hello Steven, what brings you to the capital?" A small white Gem with a blue dress asked.

She was slim and short Gem that was probably chest height to Steven; who had grown since he had come here. Her hair was short and white, her bangs swept away from her light blue eyes and being held in place with a blue hair piece, decorated with a small, dark blue diamond.

She wore a blue dress with transparent snowflake patterns, it stopping just over her knees, and a diamond shape cut out over her Gem that was sitting on the left side of her chest.

Her Gem was a pale white that matched the color of her skin and hair, with black markings, making it look like pine trees covered in snow.

Her power was to control and create ice and snow, also known as cryokinesis.

"Hey Dendrite, how are things?" Steven asked with a wave, letting Spinel down.

"I am doing fine, Citrine is enjoying the changes of Homeworld, as am I." Dendrite answered as a yellow Gem walked over.

She was the same size as Dendrite, and the two were almost never seen apart. They were both considered defective and yet they were aloud to survive due to being found useful by White when they were discovered to have powers instead of weapons like they were intended to have.

Citrine was a yellow Gem, relatively the same hight as Dendrite with her Gem being on the right side of her chest. Her hair being white with golden yellow highlights, running down her back, and nearly touching the floor.

Her eyes were a glowing orange color, the left one being covered by her hair, and her cloths very different from Dendrite's, she wore a whole body skin tight gold and yellow suit, nothing much more to its design other than just that.

She wore the skin tight suit that held no extra design for mobility as she was able to go at blinding speeds, as well as use electrokinesis: the ability to wield electricity.

"So who's your friend here?" Citrine asked, pointing to Spinel, who was sticking close to Steven.

"This is Spinel, I brought her here to meet some more people and make new friends. Say hi, Spinel." Steven nudged her with a reassuring smile.

She walked forward with a wave. "Hello, my name is Spinel, nice to meet ya." She smiled, stretching her arm forward to shake their hands.

"Nice to meet cha too, I'm Citrine, and this here, is my friend Dendrite." Citrine greeted for the both of them.

"Hello." Dendrite waved, speaking with a quiet voice. "How did you meet Steven?"

"Oh, well it's kind of a long story, but he found me in Pink's garden after she abandoned me there for six thousand years." She explained, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh no, that's terrible. I'm sorry to hear that happened to you." Dendrite said sympathetically.

"It's all fine now, Steven got me out of there and promised he would stay by my side...so, I don't need to dwell on the past as long as he's around." Spinel said sheepishly, glancing back at Steven.

Citrine laughed as she slugged the boy in the arm playfully. "Looks like our Diamond boy has this little Gem falling head over heals for him."

"Come on Citrine, don't start with the teasing already, me and her have hardly known each other for a day." Steven chuckled as he rubbed where she punch him. "And besides, who are you calling little, shorty." He grinned as he propped his arm up on her head.

Citrine just laughed as she pushed him back slightly. "Woooowww, impressive, hardly known each other for a day and you've gotten her in love with you." She continued to tease, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world to her.

"In love?" Spinel questioned. "What's that?"

"When you have very strong feeling for someone. You feel all warm inside, and you never want to be away from them for long. I guess it could be put simply as...they complete you, and you'd do anything for them." Dendrite explained with a smile.

"And it looks like our girl here has the love bug, and it's bitten hard." Citrine snickered as she leaned on Spinel.

"Come on guys, leave her alone." Steven said, lifting Citrine and setting her down next to Dendrite.

Spinel sat there deep in thought, she did dread ever having him not be around, and he made her Gem feel warm inside...but she wasn't sure about any of it, she had met him just today, she didn't want to put all of that trust in him so soon, she wasn't sure why she had developed these feelings so fast, she needed to know she wouldn't be hurt again, and while she had agreed to trust him, she wasn't feeling so sure now that she thought about it all.

"Anyway, anything new going on here? How well is everyone else adapting to the new Homeworld?" Steven asked, looking around to see the generally happy Gems walking around.

"Well as far as we know, everyone is liking your changes more or less. There is still problems with the Pearls getting treated badly, but I'm sure that will eventually pass over, it is against the law to discriminate against them after all." Dendrite spoke.

"Well it's a good start at least, I'm glad that much ran along smoothly." Steven nodded. "I kind of figured that there would be more resistance than this, it's actually surprising to see everyone settling in so nicely."

"Yeah, I was sure there'd be some kind of uprising to overthrow the Diamonds, but I guess not, you guys still have those crazy followers...which if you ask me, them making this occult around you four just made them creepy." Citrine commented.

"Yeah, their whole thing is something about how they're true followers who don't want to be let loose of serving us in any way possible, honestly it's because of them that I thought of moving out in the middle of nowhere." Steven sighed.

"Really? What did they do?" Spinel asked, confused on how freedom would make Gems just follow them more intensely.

"Well, they kind of broke into the palace, apparently we had some followers in the guard so it was easy for them to sneak in. I guess it's divided on those who don't like me and those who do. Unlucky enough, I awoke in my bed to a group of them that don't particularly like me. The guards must have been distracted or gone cause they didn't come when I called for help, so I was almost...well I'm not exactly sure what their plan was."

"Anyway, the group that did like me, actually stopped the others and probably saved my life, so while I am thankful to them for that, they are a bit...obsessive..."

"So, I had us moved out to an undisclosed location that is highly guarded, not only to keep them from sneaking in and doing whatever they were going to do, but also so me and the Diamonds could become closer as a family. Now we only come to the palace for diplomatic reasons." Steven explained the story of why he was so uncomfortable with The Followers.

"I see, that is pretty creepy, I certainly wouldn't want that." Spinel chuckled. "I understand why you were so cautious of being in the crowded areas now."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to have anyone following me back home, much less back to earth," He said, thinking about how horrible it would be to have nowhere to relax. "I don't think it would be good to have them know about either of my homes, who knows what they would do with the Gems."

"Either of your homes?" Citrine asked with a raised brow. "I thought you lived here on Homeworld, isn't that why you're changing everything here?"

"No, not really, I'd rather not get into it right now, but I needed to fix things that someone messed up and that kinda lead me here. That person's actions effected me to the point where I ended up in a position to fix Homeworld, sinI guess it's not all bad." He admitted.

"Just try not to go doing more than you're capable of handling." Dendrite warned. "The stress will get to you sooner than your think."

"Thanks, but I've been able to handle all of this so far, I'm sure I'll be ok." Steven laughed her comment off, though she did not return the joking nature.

"Steven, what's earth like? I mean, you live there, right?" Spinel asked. "And you said something about 'the Gems', more friends?"

Citrine just chuckled. "Why, you jealous?"

"Oh, not really, just curious about this planet and the Gems that fought for it along side Pink..." Spinel said dismissively.

"Oh, well if you're curious about that, I was planning on heading over there tomorrow, would you like to go?" Steven offered, wanting to show her the beauty of earth in person.

"Yeah, I guess that would be nice, I mean if you go off to earth and leave me here..." Spinel started, but quickly shook that thought out of her head. "I guess I would be pretty bored." She corrected, putting on a smile.

"Hmm, when we get back I could help you find some hobbies." Steven offered, despite knowing what she really meant. He knew that this relationship where she couldn't handle him being out of sight, would be unhealthy for her, so he was hoping to find her friends and hobbies to open up to.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, I think I'd rather just be hanging out with you." She quickly answered.

Well, it was worth a try. "Alright, if you say so. Anyway, I'm sure you'll love earth and the people you'll meet there."

"Oh you're leaving tomorrow huh? That's too bad, we have work scheduled tomorrow, I know that I woulda went, you're really hyping this earth place up, maybe next time?" Citrine complained, having a newfound interest.

"Yeah, I go at least twice a week, I'm sure you'll have a chance sooner or later." Steven offered.

"Sounds good to me, how bout you Dendy, you think you'll want to come with?" Citrine asked, nudging her arm.

"Huh? Oh, yes, earth sounds wonderful, I'll definitely go when I have the chance." She nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"Alright, I guess we'll have to make an appointment where we are all free to visit. Anyway, it's starting to get late, I should probably start heading home now. Spinel, you can stay and get to know them better if you'd like, and you can ask them to contact me when you are ready to come home." Steven offered, not wanting to cut the meeting of new friends short.

"No, I want to come home too." She quickly replied, rushing over to his side. "It was nice to meet you both, I hope we can see each other again some day." She smiled with a wave.

"It was nice to meet you too Spinel, have a good night. You too Steven, don't be a stranger." Dendrite waved as did Citrine.

"Heh, I'll call you tomorrow at some point maybe." Steven called back as he lifted Spinel up. "Bye you two."

He lifted his hood over his head again and jumped onto the side of a building before using it to propel himself off into the sky with Spinel in his arms, floating back towards the central hub. "So, did you enjoy the time out here?"

"Yeah, your friends are nice, I'm glad I was able to meet them." Spinel answered, holding on to him tightly.

"Well, if you liked them, I'm sure you'll love the Gems back on earth." Steven smiled, though it quickly faded as he went deep into thought. "Though I'll have to confront Garnet while I'm there I guess. I don't care if she hates me or not anymore, it doesn't matter, I just have to try and talk to her...we're family, we shouldn't fight."

"Steven, are you ok?" Spinel asked, taking note of his sudden mood shift.

"It's nothing, just...thinking. Anyway, we're at the central hub again, guess it's time to head home." Steven pointed out, changing the subject.

They landed right on a warp pad and before anyone could even look their way, they were carried off in a flash of light.

Steven turned to Spinel as he lowered his hood. "Oh yeah, you'll need a communication device, won't you?"

"I'll be getting you your own personal communicator as soon as I can get my hands on a spare that is made of actual modern technology, but uhh, for now," Steven started as he pulled something out of his hoodie pocket. "just take my spare, that way you'll be able to call Dendrite and Citrine or message them if you ever get bored, it will also have my contact information in there along with the Diamond's, so just make sure to be careful on where you leave it, we wouldn't want anyone else getting their hands on any of those numbers." Steven said, holding the device out for her.

Spinel looked it over for a few seconds before holding it against her gem. "I'll treasure it and keep it safe, I promise." She answered with a smile.

"I wouldn't worry about all that too much, it's really just an emergency communicator that the Diamonds said I have to have in case I loose mine somehow, I don't think I'll need it any time soon, plus it's pretty cheap and doesn't even have any video options, like I said, it's really just to make sure you have a way of contacting whoever you need to." He said, explaining that it would be ok if something happened to it, as it was just a spare for an unlikely emergency.

"But...it's a gift from you, that's why I'll treasure it, even if you say it's basically useless, I will keep it for as long as you will let me." Spinel kept her smile as they landed on the warp inside the Diamond house.

"Well, if it means that much to you, you can keep it, but I'll still have to get you an upgrade, those ones kind of bug out sometimes apparently. Now that I think about it, why is this an emergency phone?..." Said Steven, as he walked off the warp pad.

Spinel shook her head, once again trying to understand why she was getting so attached to this person so fast. She felt genuine joy when he gave her this, she felt actual happiness when she was around him, and not to mention the warmth in her gem that pulsated in certain moments when she was around him. She wasn't sure what this 'love' thing really was other than what the Dendrite had said, but she felt that she was clinging to him too quick.

She then thought about how he would react if she told him about her warmth and joy when she was around him. It was almost an instinctive feeling she had for him, but she was sure that not only would he not feel the same, but he might never return these feeling if she told him so soon.

"Me and her have hardly known each other for a day." The sentence played over and over again in her head. Of course he wouldn't feel the same...but that wouldn't shake her, she was determined to have her feelings reciprocated or at least acknowledged one day.

She held the communicator tightly as a small smile came upon her face, she then rushed after the hybrid, staying close to him.

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**Well, seems Spinel is getting some confusing feelings that she doesn't quite understand. In short, she has fallen for the one who saved her from that endless isolated hell.**

**Now about Dendrite and Citrine. I have two OCs, Dendrite being my first and favorite, and another, believe it or not, was Black Spinel. Now that the movie is out and we know what a Spinel really is, I won't be using her outside of the only story I have her in so far, which I will be publishing here soon.**

**Also, if you want to see Dendrite in more detail, why not check out my OCxSteven story while you wait for the next chapter? Or not, it's a free country, do as you wish. **

**That being said, Citrine was somewhat of a on the spot creation as a replacement for my Spinel, who's character will be fleshed out eventually...or not, that's really not what this story is about anyway, they're more so just other Gems for Spinel to open up to.**

**So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I don't know when the next one will be out, but it shouldn't be too long from now.**

**Anyway, as always, good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	6. Update

Hey there, I had my phone taken for a while under false pretenses, so I haven't been able to write...but I'm back now, update coming soon, thank you for your patience.


	7. Breakfast

**Welcome back peeps, how's it goin'?...I'm never doing that again... **

**Anyway, Welcome to the next chapter, good to see you're still around after all this time.**

**Now, I have been gone for a** **while so I gotta pump out a chapter right away while still having content that makes sense...okay, sure, I like challenges.**

**Anyway, Spinel is having strange feeling towards this boy that she hardly knows, let's just see where that goes.**

**-=The Diamond House/Steven's room=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

Steven sighed as he came out of the shower with a towel on. He couldn't find a way to explain to the pink Gem that shower time was a private thing that he needed to do alone, so he just had her sit in the corner and face the wall to prevent her from having a panic attack due to her believing he wouldn't come back.

Now he knew he had to help her get better; this was just as bad as when Peridot took his bathroom, if not worse. He would have to make her wait in one place while he went somewhere at some point, that way she would trust that he would return more often, but it just didn't feel right to do that to her after what his mom had already done. He was going to at least give her a while to become more comfortable with the people around her first.

"Alright, you can turn around." Steven spoke, wrapping his towel around his waist.

"So, what's the point in this again? I don't really understand the whole...'shower' thing." She questioned him as she left her corner.

"It's not really important, it's just that it's kind of customary that you do it alone, cause you can't be dressed while in the shower." He explained as he left the room, Spinel in tow.

"Y-yeah, you explained that much." She said with a nod. She hesitated and glanced up at him. "...Steven?"

"Yes Spinel?" He responded, using a second towel to dry off his curly hair.

"Am...Am I a nuisance?..." She asked, now beginning to think about how her clinginess could be making him upset at her.

Steven gave her a look of confusion. "What? What do you mean?"

"I-I don't want to make you not want me around anymore by being too clingy, I don't want you to be annoyed with me, but I-..I just-" She seemed to be freaking out internally and it was spilling out.

Steven cut her off as he put a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok, Spinel. I understand why you need someone to be around; my mom left you there and I guess that really messed with your head, but it's ok, I'd much rather you be around me constantly than you be alone like that."

"I know...you say that, but I mean, Pink said a lot of things too... I told myself that I can trust you, and you haven't really done anything to break that trust...but I just don't want to be hurt like that again...so...can you please, just promise me you'll never leave me? You can say no, I would understand, I'm sure if I'm not being annoying yet, I will be eventually...I know it seems kind of silly and even rude of me to ask, but still...it would mean a lot to me..." Spinel asked, her eyes swelling with tears.

Steven grabbed her hand with both of his and gave her a smile. He then wrapped his pinky around hers, giving her a nod. "I promise to always be here for you, you don't have to worry about me ever leaving you behind...if I can physically help it at least. And don't worry about all that, you really are good company to have; I've been alone here on Homeworld, I could use a friend."

Spinel took his words to heart, but still just looked down at his pinky that was still wrapped around her own, with confusion. "What's this for?..."

"It's an earth thing that's called a pinky promise. It just means that there is now an unbreakable promise between us. Also, I think there's a rule in somewhere that if I do break the promise, I have to eat needles or something horrible, but that rule holds as much ground as 'jinx, you owe me a coke'." Steven stops and chuckled a little bit. "You probably don't understand a word I'm saying, but just know that it means I won't break my promise." He explained.

Spinel just smiled and wiped her eyes with a small chuckle. "Alright Steven, heh sorry for all that,... and thank you."

Steven just laughed as he opened the door to his bedroom. "Of course."

He walked over to his dresser, pulling a curtain around the area and getting dressed. After he was in his night cloths, he jumped over to his closet.

"I guess you'll need a bed huh? Well, this is why I'm always prepared." Steven grinned as he opened his closet door. The entire thing was the size of his room back home but he kept it neat so it didn't end up like Amethyst's room.

After a minute, he spotted what he was looking for: a blow up mattress. He grabbed it along with the manual air pump that was set on top of it. "What's that?" Spinel asked.

"Well, you'll need a soft place to lay down, so I'll just blow this up and you'll have your own bed." He explained as he unrolled it. "It'll be kinda like a sleepover."

"Oh, I don't need anything like that, I'll be fine just sitting here." She tried to argue, already finding the hospitality of being aloud to live in the same house as the Diamonds to be more than what she could rightfully ask for.

"It's no trouble, I'd feel kinda weird if I just had someone sitting here next to me while I sleep anyway; Pearl used to watch me sleep a lot. Either way, it could do you well to lay down and relax, I'm sure you of all people need it." He said as he began to fill it with air.

"...alright then, if you say so." She nodded, waiting for him to tell her what to do. After a couple minutes, Steven had filled the mattress up a comfortable amount and grabbed some pillows and blankets.

"So, sleeping is fairly simple. You kind of just lay down, close your eyes, and clear your mind. Well I guess some people find it easier to fall asleep to their thoughts, but that's up to you." Steven instructed, laying down in bed and clapping twice, making the lights turn off.

Spinel copied him and got under her covers, she turned on her side to face him and closed her eyes. "So, what's supposed to happen?"

"Well, you end up falling asleep at some point, I'm not sure how to explain it, but if your mind ends up drifting off and you suddenly find yourself in some weird unrealistic situation, it probably means you've fallen asleep and you're dreaming." He explained, closing his eyes.

Spinel did as he said and closed her eyes; she felt that she could believe him when he said he would stay with her, so she didn't have any problems with not knowing if he was there or not,...because he had promised that he would be.

Eventually the two of them drifted off into a deep sleep, resting up for the next day, as they would be visiting earth.

-=Spinel's Dream=-

(You didn't think that I wouldn't add in the over used fanfic trope of teaching a Gem to sleep only for them to have a nightmare, did you? Lmao, you must actually think highly of me if you did. Sorry to disappoint I guess.)

Spinel has been walking around Homeworld with Steven again, meeting new Gems for the entirety of this new day.

Spinel then began to think about how she couldn't remember a single person that he introduced her to...as a matter of face, she couldn't remember anything that they did today. That thought was interrupted and forgotten about when Steven grabbed her hand and pulled her through a crowd of Gems.

"Wait, weren't we supposed to go to your earth today?" She asked, speaking up over the many voices of the crowd.

"Oh, yeah, we'll get to that eventually." He replied. The sea of Gems around them reminded her of yesterday when Steven accidentally let go and she got lost.

She remembered how she felt the world around her disappear, how her breathing became erratic, the painful feeling that settled in her Gem.

The more she thought about this, the darker and more distorted the world around her became. She was now alone in the crowd, Steven had disappeared again.

She tried to stay calm as she looked around for him, calling out his name as loud as she could and jumping in the air, trying to get a better view...but no, he was gone.

She backed up against a wall, feeling herself freeze up as tears came to her eyes. "Why? Why is this happening again?" She whimpered.

She balled up on the floor and covered her head with her hands. She couldn't concentrate, she was going to be forgotten again.

The voices around her got louder, though none of them were clear. Then...she woke up.

-=Steven's room=-

Steven woke up to a trembling hand gently shaking him. "Steven?..."

He gave a tired groan as he opened his eyes, turning to the one who was waking him up.

"Spinel? What's wrong?" He asked with a yawn.

"I'm... I'm scared; I don't think like sleep..." She said shyly, holding her hands behind her back.

"Oh, I think I understand. Did you have a nightmare?" He asked, sitting up in bed.

"I...I think you said it was a dream. It was that weird situation you were talking about." She said quietly, looking away, kind of ashamed of herself for not being able to even go a whole night without bothering him. "We were walking through new Homeworld, and I lost you in the crowd...I was scared and confused. I don't want to go back to that again, can I please stay awake?"

Steven gave her a puzzled look before he understood the situation. "Oh Spinel, no no no, I just wanted you to try it so you could relax. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to," He explained. "I don't order Gems to do things they wouldn't want to."

"Thank you." She said with a nod. "I'll just wait here for you to wake up..."

"Well, if you really want to..." Steven said, slightly uncomfortable. "but I have some stuff in that closet over there, maybe you can find something to entertain yourself with for now?"

She turned around and looked at the door he pointed at. "Alright, sure." She walked over to the closet and opened the door; the automatic light turning on right as it picked up the motion.

Steven laid back down, almost instantly falling asleep while Spinel began to examine things in the closet out of curiosity.

-=Next morning=-

Steven woke up with a yawn, dropping his legs out of bed. He walked over to his dresser, pulling out one of his teal shirts along with his usual jeans and whatnot. His dad had ordered him special made shirts for his birthday as he had managed to grow a few inches overnight, making all his shirts too small for him, he enjoyed the new design.

After he pulled his curtain around his dresser, he got dressed for the day. He looked around, noticing that Spinel was nowhere to be seen.

He thinks back to last night, remembering that he told her she could find something to play with in his closet.

He approached the large storage space and opened the door. It seems that she had helped herself to some of his books, as she had a pile next to her.

"Oh, hey Spinel, I see you found something to do after all." He chuckled as he approached her.

"Yeah, it was kinda hard to read at first but I think I understand all the words." Spinel said with a smile. She picked up a book from behind her and opened it up. "but I am confused about this one."

"Oh? What is it?" Steven asked, moving some books and sitting down next to her.

"This book has a lot of weird words and actions that I don't really understand." She handed him the book, already opened to a page for him.

"Let's see... 'the alien prince grabbed Johnny by his memb-'" his voice caught in his throat as he realized what he was about to read out loud.

He slowly closed the book and turned it over to see the cover. And there it was: the gag gift that his dad had given him along with what he hoped to be a joke letter about manhood.

(In reference to the book that Greg took from him in Maximum Capacity)

"You know what, how about we just go get some breakfast." He chuckled nervously as he tossed the book away.

Spinel watched the book fly through the air before looking back to him. "Um...okay then..." she says with a raised brow. "So what's breakfast?"

Steven gave a sigh of relief that she didn't continue with the questions. "Well, it's the first thing you eat after you wake up...actually I guess that depends on what you eat. Now that I think about it, breakfast is complicated; if the first thing I eat in the morning is pizza...is that now breakfast instead of a lunch or dinner food?"

Spinel just sat there with a confused look as Steven seemed to begin contemplating life. "Well...I guess I'll just pick all this up real quick and then we can go."

Steven shook out of thought and looked over to her. "No, that's okay, we can do that some other time."

He stood up and pulled her along with him, leading her out of the closet before taking her to the kitchen. There, the Diamonds all sat together. Yellow read over news reports, White drinking tea for some reason, and Blue doing her best to make an earth breakfast; something for them to eat.

All the Diamonds had gotten in the habit of shapeshifting themselves to be smaller every morning so they could enjoy mornings with their Steven.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Steven asked with a wave as he and Spinel entered.

"Good morning Steven." Yellow said absentmindedly, not looking up from her holo-screen.

"Did you sleep well Star Shine?" White asked before taking another sip from her drink.

"I slept well, thanks for asking." Steven said as he went to the kitchen closet and pulled out a spare chair for his pink friend.

The two of them sat down as Steven spoke to Blue. "So, what are you trying to make today?"

"Just trying to to make some of those pancake things that you told me about." She replied with a smile. Blue had taken to cooking earth food, finding the creation of something that she found delicious to be a fun and entertaining process. Yellow always tried the food, and though she never really liked eating it, she did it anyway in supported Blue's hobby.

"Oh that's nice, I'm sure you'll do great. Do you think you can make an extra plate today?" Steven asked his blue mother figure.

"Oh? Are you really that hungry?" Blue asked, looking back to him with a small laugh.

"No, I was actually going to let Spinel eat with us today." Steven replied as he set her chair next to his.

"Oh, I see. Yes, I can make some extras for your little friend." She said with a nod as she began making another plate.

"I-I can help you with that." Spinel said quickly as she ran over to the Diamond.

"Don't worry about her, she enjoys cooking." Yellow said dismissively, still reading the news.

"Are you sure?..." She asked nervously, obviously still not understanding that the Diamonds were just like any other Gem now...for the most part.

"Of course, go and take your seat next to Steven, I'll have something cooked up for you real soon." Blue said, glancing back with a friendly smile.

Spinel sat down at the table with Steven as instructed while speaking to Blue. "Thank you, I appreciate it."

"Don't worry Spinel, you're basically part of this family now, you can be comfortable around them." Steven reassured her before walking to the fridge and getting two glasses of orange juice.

"Right...new Homeworld, new customs...sorry, it's just hard to get used to." Spinel replies with a nervous chuckle.

"It's fine, you've been here for like one day, you don't have to rush things." Steven reassured her.

"Right, thank you." She responded with a slight nod. Steven handed her a cup of the juice before returning to his seat next to her with his own cup.

"So...what do I do with this?" She asked, picking the cup up and inspecting it.

"Well, you drink it. Just put the stuff inside the cup into your mouth, and then swallow." He explained before doing it himself.

Spinel copied him, takin a gulp of it before making a weird face. "Ugh, why is it so sour and bitter?"

"Oh, I guess you taste it like that huh? Yeah, I used to think so too, but I dunno, I think it tastes nice now; would you like some milk or something instead?" He offered, getting up from his seat again.

"I-I really am fine with this, I'm sure I'll get a taste for it." Spinel said, dipping the tip of her tongue in the juice but flinching away from it right after.

"It's okay Spinel, don't force yourself to drink it. I usually drink like two cups every morning anyway." Steven shrugged, pouring her a glass of milk. He sat down next to her and traded cups with her, him now having two glasses.

Spinel tried the new drink, finding it surprising when she actually enjoyed it. She continued to sip on it while Blue finished breakfast.

After they got their food, Spinel poked at it curiously. "What's this?"

"It's food, you do the same thing as you did with the drink, but you chew before you swallow...also, you use a fork, knife, and spoon to put it in our mouth." He said, laying the utensils out in front of her before finishing his first cup.

She did as instructed with her pancake, finding this to be yet another enjoyable taste. Unable to help herself, she began to scarf her food down.

Blue handed Yellow her plate before turning to White. "Would you like to try some today White?"

"No, that's fine. I'm okay with my tea." She dismissed the other Diamond.

Blue gave a nod, slightly disappointed that her sister wouldn't give her cooking a chance, sitting down with her own food.

Steven noticed her disappointment before giving a smile. He took a large bite of the pancake and made a big deal of just how good it was. "Oh wow Blue, this is really good! Are you sure this is your first time cooking these?"

Blue looked over to him with a slight giggle. "It's okay Steven, you don't have to do all that."

"No, it really is." He argued. "Just look at Spinel, she loves it."

He had a smile as he pointed over to the pink Gem. She looked up with a smile of her own and a moth full of food, saying to Blue, "Yea, ish really guhd."

Blue couldn't help but laugh more. "Well I'm glad you two like it, I always try my best when making something new."

They ate in silence for the rest of the meal, Spinel finishing first, then Yellow, then Blue, and then Steven.

"Oh, by the way guys," Steven spoke up as he collected plates and began to wash them all. "I'll be heading back to earth today, just a little visit."

"Oh but Steven, you were just there yesterday." White said, sounding disappointed that she couldn't spend the day with him yet again.

"I'll be back later tonight, we can watch a movie or something together, I'm sure I can find something back home that we will all like." He reassured them as he put the dishes up.

"Very well, as long as you're back tonight." Yellow said with a sigh. "Just be careful out there...I think something bad is stirring."

"I will. See you guys later." Steven said with a wave as he slipped his shoes on. "You ready Spinel?"

"Yeah, let's go." She replied with a smile, bouncing over to him. "We're going to your planet, right?"

"Yep, I have the whole day planned out for us, I'm sure you'll really enjoy it there." Steven explained as he stepped onto the warp pad.

Spinel joined him before they warped away in a flash of light, leaving the three other Diamonds alone.

"So...somethings coming?" White questioned as she looked over to her Yellow sister.

"A storm is brewing. These changes may look good on the surface, but it's happening too fast..." Yellow explained. "I feel that Steven may be in danger, he'll be safe enough with us and on earth though..."

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**Okay, so I know that we are lacking content here, but I did this in a night, so I couldn't give it my all, I mean after editing, it's 7 in the morning...also it's storming, so it's hard to stay awake and do this while listening to the rain at the same time.**

**Anyone else find extreme storms peaceful? Like, if I tree has fallen over because of this storm, it still has a feel of calm and peace to it. **

**Anyway, I digress. So, why did I only write this in one night and try to get it out fast? Well, I've been gone for like a week if not more, I need to put something out.**

**Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed the chapter nevertheless, and you aren't too upset about my absence.**

**And as always- **

**good morning, goodnight, and good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!**


	8. Welcome-to-earth

**Hello all, I'm here with another chapter for this story...well duh, of course that's what this is. Idk, just feel I need to say something every time I write a chapter, not sure why.**

**Also, I would just like to make it clear: I do not agree with Steven's thought of "it's my fault that Connie doesn't hang around me anymore" in the slightest, I just want him and his thoughts about a situation like this to be realistic...for the time being.**

**Anyway, get ready for a long chapter.**

**-=Earth/Steven's house=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

The duo appeared in Steven's Diamond tower on his galaxy warp. Spinel looked up at the glass roof and shielded her eyes.

"Why's it so bright here?" She complained much to Steven's amusement.

"I guess you've never been on a planet with the sun so close huh?" Steven chuckled, stepping off the warp pad.

"That light is your SUN?! How do you organics survive with that flaming ball of light and heat so close?" She asked, refusing to leave the warp pad.

"It's really not that bad, it only gets hot here during summer and spring. I mean sure, Homeworld's closest star is too far away to really burn the planet or blind its residents, but it still keeps it somehow livable, even if it's pretty cold like all the time." Steven explained as he opened the door.

"But if it's really that bright I can lend you some sunglasses if need be." He offered with another chuckle at the thought of Spinel with sunglasses. "They'll make the light from the sun dimmer."

Spinel just sighed as she removed her hands. "No, it's fine. I'm a Gem, we get used to different environments very fast, my eyes are already adjusting."

"If you say so." Steven shrugged, waiting at the door as she walked over. "That's probably the worst it'll be here, I can't immediately think of anything that could mess with our trip."

"Alright, if you say so. Anyway, you said you had a day planned for us, what are we doing first?" She asked curiously with a smile, making her way outside and onto the balcony.

"Well first I wanted you to meet my friends here on earth, I'm sure they will take to you quickly." Steven said as he lead her down to his room.

"So, is this where you live when you're here on earth?" She asked, associating the bed with sleep and sleep with his room back on Homeworld.

"Yep, though I've only really slept in it maybe twice; I'm usually back on Homeworld when it turns night." He explained, looking around his room with a smile. "Bismuth actually built this entire place with the help of Lapis and Peridot."

"I assume those are some of your friends I'll be meeting today then?" She asked, standing next to the sliding door.

"Maybe, it depends if we come across them, I kinda want to focus on having a fun day with you this time, but first, let's see if Pear and Amethyst are home." He said, walking over to the stairs that lead down to the living area.

Spinel followed him down, slightly nervous about meeting some of Pink's old friends that she thought were good enough to keep with her during the war.

Once she got down to the bottom of the stairs, Steven had already talked to Amethyst and Pearl, both of them seemingly waiting for her arrival.

Pearl was the first to speak up about her, "Wait, Spinel, is that you?..."

The Gem in question was admittedly irritated by the fact that this was the Pearl that Steven had been talking about. "Well, Pink Diamond's Pearl, I see she took you with her, isn't that just swell?"

Needless to say, Steven was taken back by Spinel's attitude at Pearl. "Wait, you two know each other?"

"Of course we do, she was always standing at the warp pad when me and Pink would play together. Of course she would take the silent and dutiful Pearl with her, someone had to have undying loyalty to her because they knew she was a Diamond." Spinel said bitterly.

"Hey now, maybe we should just calm down and have a peaceful conversation?" Steven chuckled nervously while Amethyst just gave a laugh as she munched on some food.

"How dare you?! I'm sorry that she preferred to take a Gem that was capable of being more than just a toy. And I didn't follow her because she was a Diamond, I followed her because I loved her." Pearl shot back crossing her arms.

"Ha, you loved her? Well it seems that she was just leading you on for her own benefit, looks like neither of us amounted to anything more than just toys." Spinel said, giving a knowing smile when she saw the hurt look on Pearl's face.

Pearl's look of hurt turned to one of anger. "How dare you assume anything like that! You don't know anything about Rose, you were only there for an occasional a joke!"

"A joke huh? The only joke here is you and your supposed love for your Diamond." Spinel frowned.

Pearl just glared as she summoned her spear, Spinel responding by inflating her fists. Steven wasn't going to let this go any further, summoning two shields and blocking both of their attacks.

"What do you two think you're doing?!" He shouted, a powerful pulse coming from his shields and sending the two of them flying back a few feet.

"She started it!" Pearl argued in her defense after getting over the initial shock of being on the wrong side of his shield.

"Woah there you two, no weapons in the house. I don't know who this Gem is and what y'alls problems are with each other, but like Steven said, you need to calm down and talk this out." Amethyst said, still not getting up from her spot on the couch.

"Amethyst is right, arguing is one thing, trying to fight each other is something else entirely!" Steven said, throwing his arms in the air.

"Yeah, that was really uncalled for." Spinel said, crossing her arms and looking away, assuming that Steven was siding with her.

"That goes for you too Spinel," He reminded her. "You started all of this, what mom did to you was bad, but it has nothing to do with Pearl; talking to her like that was just as uncalled for." He scolded her.

While on one hand, she was surprised to see Steven wasn't taking her side, she also knew that meant that she must be in the wrong as well. "R-right... I guess I just let jealousy get to me...I'm sorry."

"And Pearl, do you have anything to say to her?" Steven asked, turning to the pale Gem with an expectant look.

"Oh fine, I'm sorry for pulling my weapon on you and for what I said." Pearl apologized quickly, seemingly not happy that she had to apologize as well.

"There, now let's start this again." He sighed as his shields disappeared. "This time, let's just do Amethyst."

"Yo, you were really laying into P there." Amethyst snickered as she playfully elbowed Pearl.

"...right, my name is Spinel, but I guess you know that much." The pink Gem sighed as she held her hand out for a handshake.

Amethyst grabbed her hand and pulled her over, putting an arm over her shoulder. "So, how you know my little bro here?" She grinned.

"Well, he came and retrieved me from the guardian where I was left alone for six thousand years. Long story short, I live with him and the other Diamonds now." She explained, stepping away from her.

"I see, Steven got you your own place in the top secret Diamond house huh? How'd he manage that?" Amethyst chuckled as she sat back down on her couch next to Pearl.

"Well, they weren't going to let me stay at first but Steven convinced them that there was room for me in his room." Spinel said, oblivious to the implications that would have to Gems familiar with earth culture.

"He what?!" Pearl said in her usual screechy voice she used when she was upset about something.

"Alright, way to go Steven." Amethyst laughed. "Guess that's what happens when humans get that puberty thing."

Steven blushed as he quickly intervened before Amethyst made the whole thing worse. "It's not like that, there was just no where else for her to stay other than the garden."

"Steven, this is unacceptable, just think about what your father would say about something like this!" Pearl scolded him.

"Geez Pearl, calm down, he's practically an adult now, let him do what he wants...heh, or who he wants, am I right Stee-man?" Amethyst smirked as she walked over to him.

"You're insinuations aren't helping, Amethyst." He whined, now red in the face while Spinel just stood there confused. "Listen, she has her own blow up mattress, and even then she just sits in my closet and reads or something while I sleep, nothing more than that, so will you please stop?"

"Alright, fine." Amethyst sighed over dramatically. "In all seriousness, I don't think he'd be the type to take advantage of a clueless girl, I mean just look at her."

Spinel just stood there, visibly confused about the whole situation. "Hey, I'm not clueless!" She insisted before leaning over to Steven and whispering to him, "Steven, what are they talking about?"

"It's nothing, Amethyst is just teasing me." He sighed as he sat down on the couch.

"Oh, like how that Citrine was teasing you about that love thing?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Oh? Who else is teasing you? That's my job." Amethyst asked. "And what's this about love?"

Spinel went to explain how Citrine accused her of being in love with Steven, but Steven was quick to interrupt her. "Don't give her more ammunition."

"Anyway, do either of you know where Garnet is? I need to talk to her." Steven asked, looking around for any sign of the fusion.

"Eh, she said something about a personal mission and left a couple minutes before you came down." Amethyst said, still seeming to have bitter feeling against her. "Why do you want to talk to her anyway? Aren't you two still all awkward around each other from that thing last year?"

"I don't know about Garnet, but I want to fix this whole thing. I mean, even when her and Pearl were fighting it didn't last this long, while I haven't even had a proper conversation with her in over a year." Steven sighed as he stood up.

"Just call me if she comes back, it's important that I do this before I go back to Homeworld." He said before walking to the door, Spinel in tow.

The two walked down the beach, Spinel stopping every so often to pick up a shell she found interesting.

"You got quite the collection there, I'll see if Dewey can spare a baggie at The Big Doughnut, we can bring them back to Homeworld, maybe even set up your own little area in the bedroom." He offered as they approached the doughnut shop.

"What's a Big Doughnut?" She asked, looking through all the shells she had picked up so far.

"Well, it's where you go to get doughnuts, and before you even ask, a doughnut is another type of food and they taste really good." He explained as he opened the door, leading her inside.

"Ah, hello there Universe." Dewey waved after noticing Steven enter the shop. "What brings you back so soon?"

"Hey Dewey," Steven said, returning a friendly wave as he approached the counter. "I'm just showing my friend from

Homeworld around Beach City."

"Oh, another one of those space rock ladies; Crystal Gems, right?" He asked looking over to Spinel who just gave a small wave and smile from behind Steven.

"No, there's a difference between Crystal Gems and Homeworld Gems, it's kind of complicated though." Steven chuckled.

"I'll take your word for it, Universe." Dewey said, giving a hearty laugh. "Anyway, what'll it be today?"

"Can I just get a bag?" Steven asked, lookin over the doughnuts on display.

"Sorry, it's kind of customary that we sell at least one doughnut for each bag." Dewey apologized. "Anyway, you could used a doughnut, you're looking a lot thinner than the last time I saw you."

"Well, I'm that case, I'll have a chocolate on red velvet and- uh, go ahead and pick one from here," Steven instructed, showing Spinel the display of doughnuts.

"I'll have what he's having then." Spinel said, trusting his judgment on the food rather than just how it looks.

"Alright then, your total is $3.65; I'd give you it on the house for the new customer, but my boss is on my back about me giving out freebies." He chuckled nervously, glancing over to a newly installed camera.

"Heh, that's fine Dewey, I should pay for my food just like everyone else." Steven said as he opened his wallet, giving Dewey a five. "Go ahead and keep the change, I owe at least that much for the 'on the house' doughnuts you've been giving me so far."

"Alright then Universe, have a nice day." The ex-mayor said as he gave Steven the bag.

"You too, and good luck with your boss." He said with a wave as he left the shop.

"Alright Spinel, go ahead and take this, I'll just put your shells in here." He offered, handing her the doughnut and putting her small collection into the newly empty bag.

Steven and Spinel ate their doughnuts as they walked down the boardwalk, Steven waiving to the townies and uncorrupted Gems as they passed by.

Spinel had finished before Steven was even halfway done with his doughnut. "That was so good!" She grinned once she had swallowed.

"Yeah, I've really liked these since I was a kid, my friends Sadie and Lars actually used to work there." He said, thinking back to when his life was simple. "But then Sadie joined a band, and Lars died and came back as a space pirate; needless to say, their lives have been hectic."

"Eh, I think I would call our lives 'interesting' more than anything." Lars chuckled from behind them.

Steven turned around to see that Lars and Sadie had just left Fish Stew Pizza. Lars was in his new usual attire of a black shirt and brown jacket, and Sadie was wearing a purple tee shirt and carrying a pizza; the shirt pretty casual attire compared to the whole rock getup Steven usually saw her in.

"Oh, hey guys, I was just telling Spinel about you." Steven. "Spinel, meet Lars and Sadie. Lars and Sadie, meet Spinel."

"Hey, nice to meet you both." Spinel waved as she stepped forward and shaking their hands.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Lars." The undead teen greeted with a nod.

"I'm Sadie." The green haired girl said, smiling as she shook Spinel's hand.

"So guys, how's life been treating you?" Steven asked as he walked over to the couple.

"Well, Sadie Killer and the Suspects have been getting more and more popular; we're even getting gigs out of state, so it's been pretty good." Sadie said with enthusiasm.

"And I've recently gotten permission from Nanefua to open my own bakery with the off colors; we've gotten the building, now we just need to decorate it and whatnot." Lars explained, much to Steven's surprise.

"Wait, you're actually going public with your baking hobby? That's great Lars, I'm glad you're letting yourself follow your passion." Steven grinned, thinking about how great it would be to have a bakery run by Lars in town.

"Yeah, it was actually the off colors who insisted on it after trying some of my stuff. Honestly, I'm not sure what I was so worried about before, even Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream like the idea." Lars chuckled. "Anyway, enough about me, what's been happening with you? I'm sure taking apart and rebuilding an entire empire isn't exactly relaxing or easy, how's all that going?"

"Yeah, I guess it can be a bit stressful at times, but I think the hard part is over; the Diamonds seemed to have changed, even if only for my sake, we've made peace with many of the races that Homeworld has wronged, and all of the Gems that once lived solely for their Diamonds have all been liberated." He responded with a sigh. "But even then, I'm still not done. We still gotta finish up making peace with the rest of the surviving alien races and get everyone comfortable with the new rules and their new lives."

"Dang Steven, you should take a vacation, that's a lot for a fifteen year old to take on." Sadie said sympathetically.

"So I've been told, but I just can't. I honestly couldn't relax knowing that there's still so much to fix while I'm just going on vacation, plus I think things are about to get worse, Yellow was giving ominous warnings before I got here." He explained.

"Just don't take on too much at once; you still have your whole life ahead of you, don't go cutting years off of it by stressing yourself out so much." Lars warned. "Anyway, I gotta get back to the bakery, see you around?"

"Yeah, I'll definitely have to come by and try some of your cooking, I'm sure Spinel would like to try some too." Steven said, turning to the oddly quiet Gem.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I would love to come back and try some more earth stuff at some point." She said, though she seemed distracted by something back behind them on the roof.

"Good to hear." Lars waved as he began walking away down the boardwalk.

"Yeah, I should get going too, I just stopped by here to grab a pizza for the band, rehearsal starts in like ten minutes, so I should start walking if I want to make it" Sadie said, bringing attention to the pizza box she had in her hands.

"Alright then, I'll see you later." Steven said with a smile. "Have fun and say hello to Barbara for me."

"Will do, Steven, I'll see you around." Sadie said with a wave, walking into the town.

"Alright then, I guess next we can go and try Fun Land." Steven said, turning to Spinel. "As the name suggests, it's pretty fun there, I'm sure you'll have a good time."

"If you say so." She responded with a smile. The two of them make their way to the arcade first.

"So, what kind of games do you like?" Steven asked as they walked into the dark place, it only being illuminated by the lights from the screens of the many video games.

Spinel's face lit up at the question. "Well, I like tag, hide and seek, juggling, truth or dare, and a whole bunch of other things."

"Hehe, not like those. Actually, I guess you wouldn't know what a video game is." Steven chuckled when he realized she wouldn't have understood his question. "How about we start with...oh, let's try this one."

He brought her over to a racing game, sitting down in one seat and patting the other one next to him. "Come on, take a seat, I'll explain how it works."

Spinel sat next to him, copying how he was sitting with his feet at the pedals and his hands on the wheel.

"Alright, so here on earth we use cars to get around, and you use the peddles to move them, just press your foot on that one down there to go forward and the other one slows it down and stops it, and if you hold it down after your stopped, you'll go backwards." He explained the controls. "You think you got all that?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I understand." She nodded, looking up to the screen. "So then what's the objective here?"

"Well, you'll be racing other people who are in cars too. Just follow the path it gives you, and try to be the first one to the finish line in the third lap." He said sliding two quarters in each game.

After the game started, Spinel stomped on the pedal as soon as it said go. Her eyes lit up in joy as she began moving at high speeds. She laughed happily as she swerved down the road.

"Steven, look, am I'm doing it right?!" She asked excitedly, seeming to be having the time of her life.

Steven glanced over and gave a light chuckle. "You're doing great Spinel, you're a natural."

Spinel ended up coming in second for her race, having lost first place nearly a second before crossing the finish line. She was upset at first but felt better seeing that Steven came in fifth on his, him telling her how well she did for her first time playing, and that she shouldn't feel bad for not getting first place.

After that they played ski ball, Steven having to explain that her stretching her limbs was cheating, then Road Fighter, Circle Man vs Ghosts, and a large number of different games, Spinel excelling in all of them.

"Wow, you're really good at video games, I'm sure you could become a professional at this." Steven complimented her as she looked over her accumulated mass of tickets.

"Well, I am made for playing, maybe it's just in my gem to be good whenever I play something." She shrugged, flipping through the tickets. "Anyway, what are these for?"

"Oh, well if you win a game or do really good, you get tickets, they can be exchanged for prizes up at the front." He explained as he lead her over to Mister Smiley who was sitting behind the counter.

"Steven! How's it going?" The man smiled as he stood up. "Heheh, it's been a while since my games have been broken, what brings you back?...you didn't break another did you?"

"No Mister Smiley, everything is just as it was when we got here." Steven chuckled, understanding it was a joke. "But you may be missing quite a few tickets from your machines."

Steven motioned onto Spinel to set them on the counter. She walked up to the counter and set them down, the man giving a look of shock.

"Well well well, it seems we have a new gamer in town; who may this be?" He asked, leaning on the counter, realizing he hadn't seen this Gem around yet.

"Hi, I'm Spinel, I'm visiting earth today with Steven." She greeted with a smile, shaking his hand.

"Ha, well it's nice to meet a new face; we seem to be getting a lot of those around here lately." He said, returning her hand shake.

"Yeah, it's a nice change." Steven says, looking out the entrance to see a few uncorrupted Gems pass by. "For all of us."

"So, what'll it be kids, you can pick anything from the third shelf down and below." The manager said as he stepped aside.

Spinel just stood there, looking at Steven expectantly. "Uh, Spinel, these are your tickets, go ahead and pick a prize, you can have whatever you want as long as you have enough for it."

"Are you sure? You used your currency to get them for me." Spinel asked, unsure about accepting them.

"Yeah, you played the games that earned them, I wouldn't be able to win all those, that was all you." Steven said with a nod.

"Alright then...well, if it's my decision, I want the magenta thing holding the heart," She picked, pointing to a stuffed bear with a heart in its hands before doing the math on what she had left.

"and I want that pink thing on the fourth shelf down." She said, pointing to a pink Lion.

"Alrighty then, here you go." Mister Smiley said, handing the two plushies to her. "Now you two kids have fun and try not to break anything or terrorize my customers." He chuckled, though Steven could tell it was less of a joke this time.

"Alright then, see you later." Steven laughed nervously as he lead Spinel out of the arcade. "So, I was thinking we could ride a roller coaster next."

"Steven, I want you to have this." Spinel said, ignoring what he had previously suggested. She held out the pink lion that she had picked out.

"Oh, I really couldn't Spinel, you won that fair and square." Steven said, holding his hands up with a smile.

"But, I picked this out specifically for you to have..." She said, lookin down to the plushie that she was holding out. "Please accept my gift, these can be symbols of the memories we have made and will make today."

"Well, I guess I can't say no when you put it like that." Steven said, taking ahold of the small lion. "You know, it's kinda funny you'd choose this."

"Really? Why's that, is that a funny animal here on earth?" Spinel asked, eyeing the gift she gave to him.

"Not really, they're fearsome predators known as the Kings of the Jungle." He chuckled. "Well, all but my lion I guess, he's kind of lazy and silly sometimes, the funny part is that he's pink too."

"Oh, yeah that is funny." She laughed. "But I didn't know you had one of those, is it on Homeworld and I just didn't see it?"

"No, he's usually with an old friend of mine...I can't really call him mine anymore, he seems to like her and being around her more than me, but hey, what can you do." Steven shrugged with a forced smile but saddening internally at the memories the three of them shared together.

"Well, if he doesn't want to be around someone as great as you, who needs him, huh?" Spinel grinned as she put a arm over his shoulder playfully like Amethyst has demonstrated earlier. "You got me now after all, your new best friend, Spinel."

"Heh, you're right, let him hang with whoever he wants, I got a new best friend now." Steven said, cheering up and giving a genuine smile.

"That's the spirit!" She said, letting him go. "So, what's a rollercoaster?" She asked, referring to his suggestion to go ride one.

Steven just smiled, leading her to the amusement part area of Fun Land, forgetting about anything that could've upset him before.

They spent their day having fun, eating junk food, and just over all enjoying each other's presence, Spinel finding to mirrors that altered her appearance very interesting, deciding to give nearly an hour of her time stretching her limbs to get different visual outcomes.

Now, Steven was heading back to the temple so he could hopefully talk to Garnet before he left.

"Steven, who is that human who has been following us and watching us since the Doughnut?" She asked suddenly, pointing over to the corner of a building where someone could be seen watching them.

Steven saw this person but they quickly hid behind the wall. The hybrid sighed as he started making his way over to the building.

Once they got there, they saw Ronaldo hiding behind a dumpster. "Should've known..." Steven though with another sigh.

"Ronaldo, why are you spying on us?" Steven asked, crossing his arms. Ronaldo has done some annoying things over the time that Steven has known him, and he had come to realize that if he wanted Ronaldo to actually act like a person when he was at least around him, that he'd have to put his foot down with all the weird, creepy, and selfish things Ronaldo was known to do

"STEVEN!" He smiled nervously as he jumped up, dropping his notebook in the process. "I didn't see you there, how's it going?"

"Right...so what's the big idea here?" Steven asked again, already starting to feel fed up with the annoying teen.

"Well I'm conducting a study on Gem behavior and whatnot, so once I saw you with a Gem you haven't introduced me to, I knew she would be the perfect Gem to study." Renaldo explained as if the whole stalking situation wasn't a big deal at all. "Anyway, since you were somehow able to sense my presence, would you mind an interview?" He asked Spinel.

"Uhh...Steven?" She says, looking to him for help, obviously becoming uncomfortable by the strange person.

"Ronaldo, we have a lot to do today, we don't have time for one of your interviews, and would you please stop stalking us while we try and enjoy our day? There're like a hundred Gems around now, can't you just go mess with one of them?" Steven asked.

"Hmm, very interesting..." He says, suspension heavy in his voice before walking off.

Spinel spotted his notebook on the ground and picked it up, reading through it. "This guy is weird...why has he been documenting all these Gems?...Including me?!"

"What?" Steven takes the notebook and goes through it, seeing that it was filled almost cover to cover with information about the Gems from little Homeworld and yes, even Spinel, and most of it seemed to be done by spying on them.

Each Gem had a written description along with a photo that was taped to the page, Spinel's photo seeming to be taken from maybe a roof? They also had what Steven would imagine to be sensitive information: each Gem had a portion called "secrets" where a bunch of what Steven assumes to be secrets from each Gem were written down, some of them, secrets that could be used against them, but Spinel still had little to no info.

Another subject was strengths and weaknesses. While Steven was well aware that Ronaldo didn't stand a chance against and Gem, this sort of information could be very dangerous when in the wrong hands.

"I see Ronaldo has been keeping himself busy since I've been gone." Steven sighed as he closed the book. "Let's just hope that he's just geeking out over these Gems and it's nothing more than that."

"Is he another one of your friends?" Spinel asked, doubting that this human could possibly make friends.

"Eh, I guess somewhat. We hung out a few times when I was living here, but in the end, he would usually run into Gem problems and try to make it seem supernatural and about himself, or he would end up just being an annoying jerk, like the time I made him an honorary Crystal Gem." Steven explained. "Honestly, after reading this, I don't know how well I trust him."

"Really? Was his first one better or something?" Spinel asked with a raised brow.

"What do you mean, first one?" He asked her, with an equally confused look.

"The name of that book, it says: "Gem Research #2"." She points out as Steven flips it over to see that she's right.

"But- this thing has practically every uncorrupted Gem in it, who else-" Then it hit him. Reinaldo has one of these with the Crystal Gems in it as well.

Now he was really worried, sure there was peace for now, but if those logs actually fell into the wrong hands, no Gem would be safe depending on how accurate they were, and as far as he knew, everything in this book was right, all his new friends were recorded in this book accurately.

"We really need to go get the Gems." Steven said, rushing to the temple with Spinel in tow.

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**Well...that took forever and a half to write. Anyway, this is probably my longest chapter of anything that I've ever made, sorry for the 5k words, it all just fits into one chapter without any way to separate it into two chapters.**

**Anyway, as always-**

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	9. A-New-Conflict-on-the-Horizon

**-=Steven/Spinel/ Amethyst=-**

**-=Beach house=-**

Steven slammed the door open, waking Amethyst up from her nap on the couch.

"Dang Steven, what's with all the racket?" She asked with a yawn.

"I need Garnet, now!" Steven said in a panicked voice as Spinel joined him in the doorway.

"Yo dude, what's going on? You look like the world is about to blow up, did the cluster escape?" She joked with a laugh.

"Amethyst, this could be really serious! It's something that I probably could handle on my own, but Ronaldo would never listen to me!" The hybrid said as he began to make his way to the warp pad, setting Spinel's shell bag and his small lion on the table carefully l.

"Woah dude, what harm could that fry boy really do? I'm sure you're just over reacting." Amethyst brushes him off, this time sounding a bit more serious.

"You don't understand! Listen, I'll explain everything once everyone is present, I just need to know exactly where Garnet went, this is important." He said to her, looking as serious as possible.

"Um, I mean if it's really that important, I think I heard something about her going to that place where we found the Heaven Beetle." She shrugged, giving Steven the benefit of the doubt.

"Right, thank you. While I'm gone I want you to go and collect Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot, and Pearl. You bring them all back here and wait for me to come back, okay?" Steven asked, turning to his sister who was probably the one who he trusted the most among the Gems, the only one he trusted even more was his father.

She returned a smile. "Don't sweat it, I'll get everyone together for you."

"Thank you, Amethyst. Spinel, if you're coming with, get on the warp pad." Steven said to the Gem that was standing at the edge of the warp area.

"Oh, right, sorry." She chuckled as she bounced her way over to Steven. One she was standing next to him, he sent them off in a stream of light.

"So Steven, who's this Garnet that you've been talking about?" Spinel asks, turning to the boy as they traveled through the warp stream. "I assume she's another friend of Pink's, I've just never met her."

"Yeah, Garnet is a permanent fusion between two Gems that really love each other." Steven explained. "Mom helped her and brought her to the rebellion, but I'm sure she had some selfish motive there."

"I see...you really look down on Pink huh? I mean, I of all Gems should know that she definitely deserves it, but she created you and gave her life so you could have yours." Spinel mentioned, trying to make sense of the boy's anger at his own creator.

"Simple: she left me with her gem, and with it, all her problems, enemies, and her role to fill. In the end, I've seen her do far more bad than good. Don't get me wrong, she saved the earth and all, but I'm beginning to think that she had her own selfish reasons for that too." Steven said, giving a sigh as he thought about all his mother has done and how the little good that she actually did was probably tainted by her selfishness.

"And as for her bringing me into the world the way she did... Spinel, what I'm going to say has to stay between us, ok?" Steven asked turning to her as they finally reached their destination and began walking.

"Of course, I'm great at keeping secrets." She smiled as she made a zipping motion over her mouth, bring a small chuckle out of Steven.

"Thanks...Anyway, I feel like my existence has really only been for her to run and hide. She had so many of her mistakes towering over her so she just dumped them off on me, probably hoping I'd fix them. Spinel, at one point I got so sick of the responsibility of her actions...I tried to remove my Gem. I thought that if I no longer had this thing in me, I would no longer be held responsible for any of it. It was a moment in my life where I had no supporters, and everyone was still wanting me to be like my mom, it was so hard to handle." Steven explained, helping her along the path.

"You tried to take out your Gem? What happened? Did you really end up doing it?" Spinel asked, seemingly worried for the boy.

"Well...I tried to but it hurt too much, though I guess it was for the better that I didn't, seeing as it probably would've killed me. Anyway, I spent the rest of the night on the roof and watched the sun come up. It gave me time to think and realize that I shouldn't worry about what others want me to be. I should fix this world because it's my planet, not my responsibility, I should help the corrupted Gems because they need help and I have the potential to do it, not because my mother screwed them over. I shouldn't think of fixing my mom's mistakes as...well fixing her mistakes." He said, thinking back to that night. "At least not in the sense I was thinking before."

"And you know, in the end, that got me along for a while, but then I look at Homeworld and how I have to fix it. No longer am I just fixing her mistakes, but I'm fixing an entire race's mistakes now. Maybe...maybe after this, I can finally just relax and have a normal rest of my childhood. Heh, I used to be so infatuated with the Gems and all the Gem stuff, but it became pretty clear that there's more to it than just fighting monsters, and quite frankly I just want to fix everything and get it done with so I can finally have some peace." They approached the top of the mountain, Steven still lost in the conversation.

"I see...yeah, that does sound sucky, I think I can understand where you're coming from." Spinel nodded, giving him a look of sympathy.

"Heh, but it's all ok, once I'm done with Homeworld, I can go back home and relax. I'll never have to worry about Gem stuff again." Steven chuckled lightheartedly. "Anyway, we're at the top now. Spinel, can I ask one big thing if you?"

"Yes, of course." She nodded, all to happy to try to take some weight off his shoulders in one way or another.

"Can you wait here at the entrance? I promise I won't be too long, but I will be pretty far ahead." Steven asked, unsure how she would respond to the proposal. "It's just that...well, if I'm going to get Garnet to come home and help me, I'll need to stop this argument we're having, and I would rather do it in private. You can say say no, I won't mind, but I just think things would move along better and I would seem more sincere if I went alone."

Spinel sat there for a moment, hesitating on an answer. "I...I want to, I really do, but I don't know if I could handle being all alone here...this place reminds me a lot of the garden as it is..." She said, looking around at all the plant life.

Steven thought for a moment and have a smile. "Hey, you still got that plushie?" He asked, getting an idea.

"Yeah, it's right here." She said, pulling it from her Gem.

"Good. I want you to try holding onto it while you remember the memories you said it represents. Just remember how much of a genuinely good time we've had together. If you keep at that, I'm sure it'll keep you calm and remind you that I actually do care for you and will always come back. You think you can do that?" Steven asked, trying to make her plushie into some kind of therapy doll.

She looked down at it, a smile coming to her face as she hugged it close. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

"Alright then, I'll be back soon, okay?" He said, turning to go up the stairs.

Spinel just gave a wave and a nod as he began walking. "See you soon."

A few minutes later with Steven, he had just gotten to the top of the stairs, seeming to be out of breath at this point.

He made his way inside the wrecked building, a hole in the roof from the time he was eaten by that bird. He looked around and saw Garnet outside, she was sitting on the calm water, seemingly meditating.

The boy gave a sigh as he made his way outside. He hesitated before pulling his pant legs up a little, kicking his shoes off, and stepping in the water.

He slowly walked over to the fusion, wondering if she even knew he was here. "Yes Steven, I know." She said calmly. Right...future vision or just plain omnipotent knowledge of the world around her at this point? Who could say?

"Hey, Garnet." He said, walking next to her. "I've come to talk to you."

She looked over to his with a slight surprised look. "Really? About what?"

"Well, a couple things, but before anything, I just wanted to apologize. I get that you were just looking out for me, and maybe getting upset and just leaving alone wasn't the best course of action." He sighed, looking off into the distance.

"No...I'm the one who told you to go alone. Albeit, I never actually thought you would actually do it, I was still in the wrong for how I acted." Garnet said, her voice almost as stoic as ever, holding deep emotions of sadness "I just...well you have to understand, Ruby and Sapphire know the real Blue Diamond. The one that shatters Gems on a whim. I was just scared that one of them would let their emotions get the better of them and they'd hurt you."

"I can see that now, but Homeworld has been going great. I've actually been wanting you to see it,... I mean, to be honest, even when we're fighting like this, I was still just trying to make you all proud of the work I was able to get done on Homeworld." The hound Diamond responded.

"I'm sure you've done an amazing job and I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Steven, you have to think of it from my perspective: I've lived for thousands of years, all my life I've been fighting." She began, seemingly starting to get emotional. "Steven, you've been alive for fifteen years now. After taking with Greg I understand that's a big deal, you're basically an adult at this point...but it's just not that easy for me."

"I don't think I understand." Steven said, confused on where this was going.

"For as long as I've know humans, I've been told how fragile they really are, especially the younger ones. I've spent fourteen years of my life trying to keep you safe, always keeping that in mind. Then, after those fourteen years, you were asking to leave for Homeworld with some of the most dangerous beings in all of the universe." She began explaining.

"I guess I was still under the impression that you were still small and fragile, never once did it cross my mind that fifteen years is a lot to humans. Like I said, I've lived for thousands of years, the past fifteen years has felt like maybe what a year would feel like to you, people don't turn into adults in a year. Before I knew it, I had basically blinked and you were basically a mature adult, worth of the title "Crystal Gem", and more than worthy of my trust. I'm just sorry it took so long to realize that." Garnet said, not even able to find the strength to look Steven in the eyes.

"Really? But, if that's the case, why have you been ignoring me and avoiding me? I mean, I get that when I first came back that I kind of did the same, but it just seems that every time I'm here that you just leave before I get the chance to even say hi. I was starting to think you actually hated me." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Garnet gave a surprised look before making her way over to Steven and giving him a reassuring smile. "Steven, of course I don't hate you, I could never bring myself to hate my cutie pie."

Steven chuckled lightly at the old nickname, tears came to his eyes as he continued. Garnet thought she had done something wrong but before she could even say anything, the boy wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug.

She continued to smile as she put a hand on his head. "I've missed you too, Steven."

She let him stand there for a minute or so before he let her go, the realization that he hadn't told her the other thing yet hitting him.

"That's not all I came to tell you though. Walk with me back down the stairs, I should really start getting back to Spinel nkw, she hasn't been away from me for this long yet." Steven said, turning to go back to the stairs.

"Spinel huh? I don't think I've ever met a Spinel, who is she?" Garnet asked, walking along side him.

"Well, it's a bit complicated, but mom left her alone and had her stand in one spot for six thousand years straight. The Diamonds thought I needed a companion so they found her and sent me to go get her. She has separation anxiety, so it's hard to leave her alone." Steven explained as they started walking down the stairs.

"I see. Of course you would be the one to go out of your way like that to help such a Gem, you're still the same old Steven everyone knows and loves." She says with a smile. "Anyway, I'm sure what you have to tell me is urgent then? I mean, it made you come looking for me after all."

"Right. I think that not only are the Crystal Gems in danger, but so are all the uncorrupted Gems too." He said, thinking about that book again. "Amethyst is gathering the other Crystal Gems, I wanted to tell you all together so that way you're all at least aware of it."

"Alright, let's get back soon then." Garnet said with a nod as they sped up the pace a little bit.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Steven could see Spinel waiting, seeming to be only slightly anxious while holding the bear close.

Steven chuckled at the adorable site of her hugging the bear while she waited for him.

"Hey Spinel, I'm back!" Steven called to her, waiving as he approached her. She gave a relieved smile as she rushed over to him.

"Steven, look, I did it!" She grinned. "I was able to wait for you without any problems!"

Steven chuckled at her joy. "That's good, I'm proud of you for lasting as long as you did alone."

"You were right, all I had to do was keep on thinking about the memories this stuffed toy represents and I could assure myself that you weren't going to leave me, and it kept me calm." She said, looking over the bear.

"See, I knew it would work." He said, giving her a smile before turning to Garnet. "So, this is Spinel."

"Oh, is this the Garnet we were coming to get?" She asked looking the fusion over.

"Yep, we're going back to the house now, I'm sure everyone is waiting on us at this point." Steven nodded.

"Right." She said before turning to Garnet. "Hey, I'm Steven's best friend, Spinel. But I guess you already got that." She said, shaking her hand.

"Hello." Garnet greeted with a nod. Steven walking up behind them.

"We should get going now, I'm sure everyone is getting impatient." He said, walking past them, Spinel being quick to follow.

**-=In the house=-**

**-=Peridot/Lapis/Bismuth/Pearl/Amethyst/Garnet/Spinel/Steven=-**

Steven came back to see that Amethyst had actually managed to gather the main team and they were all waiting on the couch.

"Hey Steven, you wanted us?" Lapis waved with a smile.

"Yeah man, you had me gather everyone here, why?" Amethyst asked from her spot on the couch next to Pearl.

"Alright, I can explain now." Steven nodded, walking to the middle of the room. "Now, this might just be a false alarm, and I don't need all of your help, but I just thought it would be best if everyone knew."

"Stop being vague and just tell us!" Peridot shouted, seemingly taking this unknown threat seriously.

"Well, Ronaldo has been going around and documenting Gems." Steven said, tossing the notebook onto the table.

Pearl picked it up and started flipping through it with a gasp.

"Yeah, he's been going around and finding secrets that they would never want to get out, their strengths, and their weaknesses." Steven said with a nod.

They passed the book around, the reality of the situation hitting them all...well all but Peridot apparently. "So what? Some human's been going around and getting information on some Gems, what could he possibly do with it?"

"I know this doesn't sound like a big deal Peridot, but if this information is taken by someone who can actually use it against us, no one would be safe." Steven sighed, surprised he would even have to explain that to an alleged genius.

"Humans don't usually tend to have photographic memory, we have the book, everything is fine now, right?" Pearl asked, taking the book and setting it on the table.

Steven turned the book over so they could see the cover. "Book #2...there is another, maybe even more than just one. I want to resolve this peacefully, so I was going to ask a couple of you to come along and intimidate him into giving us whatever he has left, this first book is really important."

"Wait, what's so much more important about the first book?" Bismuth asks with a raised brow.

"Me and Spinel are thinking it's all of you and myself. We need to get it back ASAP." Steven explained.

"Alright, maybe we should all go then; I don't want to have to beat a human up, and he didn't seem scared of us the last time we had to fight him for the sake of retrieving you." Garnet said with her arms crossed.

"Right, I wanna see what kind of human would go around and stalk Gems like this anyways." Lapis agreed.

"Sure, just remember that we aren't trying to hurt him, just intimidate him into giving up the other journal and to just forget anything he might actually remember." Steven answered.

He grabbed the book and the group left the house on their first real mission in over a year.

**-=Ronaldo's house=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel/Peridot/Lapis/Bismuth/Garnet/Amethyst/Pearl=-**

They ended up in front of the Fryman house, Steven knocking on the door and waiting for someone to answer.

After a few seconds, Ronaldo's father answered the door. "Oh, hey Steven, what are you and your friends doing out this late?"

"Hey Mr.Fryman, we need Ronaldo, can you get him for us?" Steven said, not bothering to answer his question. "I need to talk to him."

"Ronaldo huh? Well he isn't here, though I think I saw him rushing off to the boardwalk not too long ago." He explained, confused on why Steven and his friends would need his son of all people.

"Thanks, I'll see you around Mr.Fryman." Steven said with a wave as he turned around, heading for the boardwalk.

**-=Boardwalk=-**

**-=The same Gems and Steven as before=-**

Steven and the Gems finally made it to the boardwalk to see Ronaldo next to a building, the same place he was when Steven and Spinel caught him spying.

"Alright guys, just let me do the talking at first, maybe he'll just give it up, but knowing him...probably not." Steven instructed before making his way over to the teen.

"Hey Ronaldo, looking for something?" Steven asked as he approached him with his arms folded.

"Steven!" Ronaldo said in his usual loud and obnoxious greeting. "Have you seen my journal? It's really important that I get it back."

"Your journal huh? Would you mind telling me what's in it? Maybe I'll know if I've seen it around." Steven asked, hoping to get an honest answer.

"Oh, you know, just some notes I've been taking, trying to find stuff so put on my blog, like usual." He said, not doing that great at hiding his nervousness.

"Really? So I guess that means you know that you aren't supposed to be doing this, and that we would be upset about it?" Steven asked, pulling the journal out, showing the crazy teen that he knew.

What Steven didn't expect was Ronaldo lunging forward and grab ahold of the book. The Gems moved to try and stop him but Steven held his hand up as a sign for them to not make any rash decisions.

Despite Ronaldo using the entire weight of his body to pull on the book, Steven kept a firm grip on it with just one hand.

"Ronaldo, you need to explain this. Now." Steven ordered, pulling the book away.

He looked away, seeming to get even more anxious. "Well, you know. I have to get as much information that I can so I can make truthful reports in my blog."

"But this is wrong! It's wrong to spy on people and gather sensitive information like this! I mean, we weren't even in town for a day and you started making a page about Spinel, and she doesn't even live here!" Steven said, raising his voice. He knew from their history that Ronaldo wasn't someone you could just reason with if you aren't stern with him.

"I-I know, it's just- well you see-" He was struggling to find and excuse.

"Listen. We can just forget about this if you give us everything you've made about everyone. Digitally and on paper, plus you have to try and forget everything you've learned. I don't think you understand the kind of danger you've put everyone in." Steven sighed. "So let's just start by you giving me the first book."

"Wait, no- I cant!" Ronaldo said, seeming to panic. "And I need that book too!"

"Why?! You're freaking out over this, it's obviously not for your blog!" Steven shouted, loosing his patience for the teen that was putting his friends and family in danger.

Before he could answer Lapis wrapped him in water chains tightly, Peridot had random scraps of metal floating around her, and all the Gems summoned their weapons.

"I know I said intimidate him, but this is a bit much." Steven thought as he looked around to make sure no one was watching this, as they could get the wrong idea.

"We aren't asking anymore, give us the book, now." Garnet said in her usual monotonous voice but with slight undertones of anger.

"W-wait, I really can't give you the first book, and it really is the only other document of Gems that I have, I promise!" He panicked.

"And why is that? What could possibly be stopping you from giving it to us?" Pearl asked, visually tightening her grip on her spear.

"B-because I already gave it to someone else!" He admitted as he shut his eyes, bracing for whatever happened next.

"You what?! Who did you give it to?! Why would you give it to anyone?!" Steven shouted as he gripped his head, now panicking as well.

"I don't know who it was, she just told me that she needed it, she said if I wanted jer yo keep her end of the deal, I wouldn't ask questions." He said, getting quiet, realizing just how suspicious this whole thing was and just how much he messed up.

"Who? Who wanted all this information on us?" Steven asked, trying to sound calm as Spinel tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know. She had a robe on, the only thing I know is that she was tiny and really mean, and kept going on rants about how disgusting this planet and its inhabitants are. She had another person with her, but they were pretty big and didn't really say anything." He described, bringing one person to mind...well, one Gem to mind.

"Right...when did you give her the book? Where did you give it to her at? What were you going to get in return?" Steven listed his questions calmly.

"I gave it to her this evening, at the lighthouse. She promised me that...she promised that she would make sure my family stayed safe." He explained, making Steven feel a twinge of sympathy for him, but also confusion.

He looked back to the Gems nervously. "You guys don't think?..."

"It's possible. We should head home, we're probably safest at the temple." Garnet said. "Fry boy. We aren't angry with you, you were just looking out for your family, we understand. Just come to us next time."

Lapis dropped him onto the floor while Peridot tossed the scraps aside. "Right...thank you, I should get home now."

"Okay, see you around Ronaldo." Steven sighed as he turned around.

"Steven, are you ok?" Spinel asked, speaking up for the first time in a bit.

"I don't know. I was so close to being able to have the peaceful life I wanted, and now we have even more enemies, seemingly coming after me personally." He said, now having to think about how he was putting his friends and family in danger as well.

"It's okay, can't we just go to the Diamonds about this? I'm sure they'll know what to do." Spinel tried to reassure him.

"I don't think that'll work, they found where I live, or if I'm right about who this is, they already knew where I lived." He speculated as they started heading back to the temple.

"Wait, do you know who this mystery person is?" Bismuth asked, lost on the whole situation.

"I think it's Aquamarine and Topaz. I'm not sure why Topaz would still be with her, but I am sure that Aquamarine would be the type of Gem to want me gone along with the people I care about. From the little time I knew her, she was pretty evil just for the sake of it." Steven explained told her of his encounter with her.

"If it's Aquamarine, we don't stand a chance! she threw us around like rag dolls last time!" Amethyst said, not enjoying the thought of having to try and fight that evil little pixie again.

"All we can be sure of, is that Steven isn't safe here anymore." Garnet spoke up. "Steven, as much as it pains me to say this, I want you to go back to Homeworld and tell the Diamonds about this. You're in more danger without them than you are with them."

"Right, it's probably best if they know immediately." Steven agreed, deciding not to fight the whole thing about keeping him safe as they approached the temple, a new conflict just on the horizon.

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**You do not know the pain of having broken autocorrect because you like to be a sarcastic dip-shit WhO tYpEs LikE tHiS aNd bReAkS hiS AuToCorReCt tO tHe pOiNt wHeRe iT tHiNkS tHaT tHiS iS aCcEpTaBLe wRiTiNg!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Also, chapters are now getting harder to make at readable lengths rather than being too short, so my apologies if this went on too long. Oh well, I guess the former is the better option anyway **

**Anyway, as always-**

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	10. A-New-Rebellion

**Ok, so it's official that Spinel managed to grab a weapon of mass destruction and rejuvenator in a time of peace just because she was one of Pink's friends.**

**First off, that says a lot about the way Homeworld is ran, if you can just say you're a friend of Pink's or even just being her known friend and being aloud to grab these things without direct permission from Pink herself...**

**Second off, I'm now just assuming that Spinel has time warping powers because even if she managed to grab all that in the matter of two hours at most (a generous time range from when Steven made his announcement to when she attacked if I do say so myself) she wouldn't have been able to make it to earth in what little time she had left after that, it took Pink's ship (A DIAMOND'S SHIP) hours to get to Homeworld from earth. (An easy assumption made by the fact that Connie and Amethyst were able to fall asleep on the way there.)**

**So, she either has power over time or the power to grab the plot by the pussy, shape shift herself a cock, and make it her bitch by fucking a few holes into it. I regret that statement, it puts a bad image in my head of the precious little slinky, but I'm sticking by it.**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

**-=Steven's House=-**

Steven was about to say his goodbyes to the Gems after collecting a few movies as he had promised the Diamonds they would spend time together tonight, he felt that after today he needed to get some time to relax before it was too late.

"Alright everyone, I'll be dropping by to check on things every now and then, just promise you'll call if something goes wrong." Steven said to his family and friends, all of them standing in his Diamond tower.

"Of course, just make sure you're ready to get over here quick so Smokey Quartz can kick some butt too." Amethyst grinned before giving him a goodbye hug. "Also, stop growing, you're leaving me behind here."

Steven gave a chuckle and returned the hug. "I dunno, I'll see what I can do about my growing situation, but if the Diamonds are any reference, this is only the beginning."

"Don't you go getting too big for your house now, Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot spent a lot of time fixing it up for you." Garnet said, giving him a smile as she laid her hand on his head.

"It's no big deal, I mean I just sat there making water float things to the house, no chips off my Gem." Lapis shrugged with a slight grin of her own.

"We built this place to your liking, if you become too big for the house without even getting to enjoy it first, I'll fight you, you pebble." Peridot said with her arms crossed, seemingly taking the joke seriously, much to Steven's amusement.

"I say let em get big, he's still has the drive of a Quartz, maybe he'll eventually join one of our training sessions." Bismuth laughed giving him a pat on the back.

Steven and the Gems all communicated for a while, saying their goodbyes while Spinel just stood by the warp pad twiddling her thumbs, slightly jealous of the love and affection he was giving everyone else, but she kept it to herself.

Steven joined her on the warp pad with a smile. "You ready to go Spinel?" He asked, zipping up a bag of his that held the movies, his pink lion, the bag of shells, and the journal.

"Yeah, if you are." She said, returning the smile. "Are we still hanging out with the Diamonds tonight, or should we start planning stuff against the ones who have that book on you guys?"

"No, we'll still be watching movies tonight, I just want to relax and that be that if not just for one night." Steven sighed as the warp light took them away. "I mean, it's not like we can do anything without confronting them and knowing for sure who they are, but if it's Aquamarine, I'm not sure what we could even do anything to her. I mean, maybe an ambush if we're lucky."

"Is she really that strong? I mean, I don't know much about Aquamarines, but I don't think I know many Gems that could hold their own against a big team like yours, especially with that Lazuli on your side and you being a Diamond." Spinel said as they appeared in the Diamond house.

"Yeah, I guess we didn't really have Lapis around to help back then, but I mean, if Lapis isn't quick about it, Aquamarine would just use her telekinesis thing to hold her in place, and even then, she had and maybe still has a Topaz fusion with her, and she's really strong too." Steven explained, trying to come up with a way to beat them.

As they entered the living room, the Diamonds noticed the two of them. "Oh, welcome home Steven, I trust your trip was nice?" White smiled.

"Um, do you guys ever leave the house?" Steven asked with a raised brow as he set his bag down. "Anyway, the trip in whole was nice, but I have some worrying news."

Yellow looked down to him. "What happened? Don't tell me one of those Gems did something to upset you again."

"No, no...actually, all of them are in danger now, possibly me too." Steven sighed, sitting down on his smaller couch.

"Why do you say that? Were you attacked on your earth?" Blue asked worriedly.

"Not exactly, someone had a human from my town collect information on the Crystal Gems and the uncorrupted Gems, I was able to get the one on the corrupted Gems, but he had already given them the first book with everyone else's information in it." He explained, setting the book down on the table. "I'm just gunna burn this or something, if it gets out as well, everyone would be in trouble."

"So, if I'm understanding this correctly, there is someone out there threatening you on your own planet?" Yellow asked with her arms crossed. "I thought there would be trouble, but I never could've known that they'd know that you still go to earth..."

"Wait, you know something about this?" Steven asked, confused on why he wasn't given a proper warning. "What's going on, who's after me and my family?"

"Yellow, I think you should tell him." Blue sighed, looking to her sister.

"Right..." She responded with a huff. "Steven, this morning there was some kind of war in the middle of the capital; a rebellion if you will."

"Wait, what?! Why wasn't I told about that?!" Steven exclaimed, now beginning to panic over the thought of having to lead an entire race into war. "I thought we were making peace with everyone!"

"No, no. You see, this battle was between the last of those who praise the Diamond Authority; those who see us as godly beings still." Yellow explained.

"But-" Steven tried to wrap his head around the situation, but for each question answered, more appeared. "Why would they attack each other in the first place, much less in the capital of all places."

"I'm not sure why they chose to fight in the capital, they may think we still live in the palace, as it oversees their 'battlefield'." Yellow theorized. "As to why they were fighting, well as you know, there are two sides to this group: those who enjoy the peace and whatnot that you have brought here, and those who want things back to the way they were."

"Right, some of them are just having a hard time accepting change, but why would they fight?" Steven questioned once again as he leaned his head back on the cushion of the couch, Spinel joining him with what little room there was and sitting close.

"Well, it seems that there was an argument between them, and after the ones who don't like you beat the Gems supporting you, they declared a rebellion against you." White said, setting a holo-screen in front of him.

On this holographic news article, there was a photo of the first Diamond insignia painted onto the gates of the palace, only the pink diamond was illustrated as being covered in cracks and falling from the rest of the diamonds, the bottom corner had hit what he assumed was the floor and had already began to shatter.

"Personally I find the whole ordeal flattering." White chuckled softly. "To think that we had followers so loyal that they'd break out into a war to make things the way they were before."

"This is no laughing matter White, Steven is in danger." Blue scolded, clearly worried for the boy. "Things are different for the better, it's just hard for some to accept change."

"Wait, so what happened to everyone?" Steven asked, hoping the casualties were low and he could go to their cells to ask them some questions.

"Unfortunately, your followers we're all shattered in the battle; or at least to our knowledge they were." Yellow broke the news to the hybrid, knowing he wouldn't take this lightly. "As for the rebels, well they all escaped, the few we managed to catch were broken out before they could be interrogated."

"Oh...I see." He sighed, slumping in his seat. "I don't understand why this is happening. I thought I was fixing things, I was helping everyone."

"Well, as you said, some people don't like change." White hummed. "Though, I'm surprised it wasn't the Quartz's who started this, I mean their thirst for fighting must be getting to them by now."

"That's profiling White, stop that" he sighed. "...I was gunna put a movie or two on for the five of us, but I don't know how I feel just sitting here in this safe place while everyone else is out there and in danger." He said, as he stuffed the book back into his bag and set the movies to the side.

"Steven, you can't just stress yourself all the time while trying to fix every last little thing, a true leader can't do any good if they don't take care of themselves too." Yellow said, her worries of him going into overdrive once again so he could hurry to fix thing coming up.

"It really seems you weren't able to completely relax on your earth, just sit down and relax, we can spend some time together and just get ready for when we have to take action against these Gems all together as a family." Blue reassured him.

"R-right. I guess I shouldn't go depriving myself of sleep again." Steven nodded, reluctantly agreeing to relax.

When Steven first came back to change things, he ended up overworking himself and working for three days straight as he went around explaining how this new Homeworld would work, making laws, and helping everyone get comfortable talking casually to a Diamond by going around and making friends with as many people as possible, but what took the most time was making sure they were eased into it at a reasonable rate.

That brought his two closer friends to mind: Citrine and Dendrite. "Wait, I have to go to the capital, I need to check on some of my friends." He said, moving to stand up.

"No, no, no. You are not to leave here without a team of Quartz's with you, and they're all busy going over the city and trying to help others." Blue interrupted, going into strict mom mode. "Now, you may contact them on your communicator, but you are to stay here until you are told otherwise, ok?"

Steven was going to argue, but the last time he argued with Blue when she was being serious about something it didn't go over well. "Yeah...fine, I'll just call them up real quick."

He put a movie into the DVD player that was modified to connect to the large nearly house-sized screen that they called a TV before turning the volume up. "You guys get started, I'll come and watch the rest once I'm done. Come on Spinel, you can talk too once we call them."

Steven left the living room in a hurry, pulling his friend along, but the Diamonds didn't even bother to question him about, just assuming that he wanted privacy for this call.

Once the two got to his room he went straight for the closet, walking out after a minute in his red hoodie with the yellow star, holding a black Homeworld version. "Alright Spinel, you put this on, its a bit loose on me so it should be good enough to hide you, I want both of us to not be seen while we're out there, it's going to be really dangerous this time."

"Wait, I thought they said you had to stay here until you got some guards to accompany you?" Spinel reminded him as she took a black hoodie with the Diamond insignia on it from him.

"Right, but I'm a Diamond too, they can't make me stay here while my friends could be in danger. I'm going to call them up and have them meet us in a discreet location so I can get their side of what happened as well." He said putting his hoodie on and pulling the hood up, that argument sounding similar to him, though he couldn't think of why.

"Won't they hear us leaving? The warp isn't exactly quiet." She questioned as she put hers on as well, mirroring the boy's actions.

"Nah, I made sure the tv was up loud before we came back here." He said, closing his door as not to alert them with the flash of light.

"Well...if you say so. I have your back." She nodded with a smile. "Let's go and check on our friends."

"Hehe, I knew I could count on you." Steven said returning the smile as he lifted her hood onto her head for her, her hair making it slightly difficult for him. "Let's get going then."

**-=The Capital.=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

Once they ended up in the capital, they immediately noticed that it was empty. The once lively streets were now void of life, everyone replaced by rubble and debris.

"Dang, things got out of hand." Spinel said quietly as she looked around, hoping that no one had heard them arrive.

"This is horrible, is this all really...my fault?" He spoke out loud, though mostly talking to himself.

"Hey, don't put yourself down like that." Spinel tried to comfort him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, you've changed things here for the better, but it's like Blue and even yourself said: not everyone can accept change as easily as others. Don't blame yourself for the actions of Gems that refuse to change with the rest of Homeworld, ok?"

"I-...I guess, yeah." Steven sighed as he began walking through the streets, on his way to their set meeting location, and still not being totally convinced that this wasn't his fault. "You know...Garnet explained to me today how Gems perceive time compared to humans."

"Really? I mean, I understand that humans probably see things go by much faster than us; in fact I'm sure most non-immortal organics do, I mean they don't usually last that long, right? Spinel asked, having a basic understanding on how short the lifespan of something that's organic, ... such as the plant life in the garden.

"Yeah, things go by so much faster for us because we haven't lived for thousands of years, we all have an expiration date." He explained. "With Gems it's different though...that entire year I spent trying to ease Homeworld into a new life and way of thinking, it might as well have not been even a day for everyone."

"Yeah, but didn't Citrine and Dendrite say everyone seems to be getting into this new lifestyle just fine?" She asked, not completely getting why there would be a full on rebellion over this while everyone else was happy with the changes.

"Yeah, I guess some of them were just waiting for the day that this would happen, but there were elite Gems who enjoyed their jobs; jobs that they can't do anymore now that were in a time of peace." Steven guessed, trying to think why Aquamarine would rebel other than to regain her position of power.

"Makes sense I guess, but what kind of jobs wouldn't be aloud that were before?" Spinel asked, not sure what job could actually be so bad that it be banned.

"Well, there's the Gems who scout planets to take, the Kindergarteners, the assassins, the soldiers; though they're just on hold and have other jobs for the time being, and there's also Gems like Aquamarine who just do the dirty work for their superiors, mercenaries if you will." Steven said, listing a few occupations that had no place in the third era of Homeworld.

"Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess when you're trying to make friends with all the other races that have been affected by the actions of your people, you wouldn't want to have all that openly at your disposal." She agreed as they continued into the capital, their destination in sight.

"Well, here's the spot, let's hope that they're already there, this place is giving me a bad feeling." Steven said, looking around for any signs of life in the area, only to have to remind himself that there was no one around here.

The two hooded figures ducked into the alley that they had agreed to meet their friends in. "Citrine? Dendrite?" Steven called out quietly.

Out of nowhere he was nearly pushed over in what he assumed was an attack. Before Steven could summon his shield to fight back, he realized it was their friends.

"Thank the Stars you two are ok, we were so worried!" Citrine said, not even bothering to try and keep quiet.

"Yeah, I had to remind her that you guys were safe on your earth...though I don't want to think of what would've happened if you weren't." Dendrite said quietly, seemingly upset about the thought alone.

"It's okay guys, we're perfectly fine, in fact we only came out here to see if you two were ok and to figure out what happened." Steven chuckled, returning the embrace.

"Yeah, you were in the eye of the storm after all, did either of you get hurt?" Spinel asked, feeling another twinge of jealousy at the sight of him being affectionate with seemingly everyone but her, but she did well to hide it.

"Well, me and Dendrite got separated until right before it was all over, I didn't end up getting in the crossfire but I saw a lot of it." Citrine sighed, thinking back to just a few hours ago when chaos broke loose.

"Needless to say, it wasn't very pretty. When I saw their emblem on the palace gates, I assumed the worst." Dendrite said, referring to the broken insignia that Steven had seen in the news article.

When they moved out to the middle of nowhere, Steven had to keep it a secret, everyone still thought they lived in the palace, and he felt guilty for making his friend worry like that.

"Why didn't you guys call when all this started? I would've come to get you two immediately." Steven questioned.

"We would've called, but something was stopping our calls from going through." She explained. "I guess they made sure to fix that before anything; I was surprised to hear my communicator chime at all."

"Geez, well at least you two made it through safe, right? No cracks or anything?" Spinel asked, getting a closer look at their gems.

"Heh, nah, they couldn't lay a hand on me if they even wanted to." Citrine smirked confidently. "Anyway, how did you get the Diamonds to let you come to the capital after an attack against you specifically? You've told me how protective and smothering they can be."

"I didn't, I just put on a really long movie and snuck out." Steven shrugged. "I mean this is my fault to some extent, I should at the very least check on my friends."

"I don't think it's all that good of an idea for you to be out here right now, there are Gems rebelling against you." Dendrite reminded him.

"Well that's why I brought hoodies for me and Spinel, no one will recognize us." He shrugged with a chuckle. "Anyway I'm just glad to see you two are ok, I wasn't sure what the extent of the violence was, but with how you explain it and from what I've seen, there don't seem to be many if any innocent casualties or injures thankfully enough."

"Well it was nice of you to come and check on us, thank you for your concern." Dendrite said with a smile and a slight bow.

"Ah come on, big Diamond boy here doesn't need to check on us," Citrine laughed, crossing her arms. "I for one ain't no Damsel in distress."

Steven returned a laugh of his own. "It's not like that, I just wanted to make sure you two didn't get caught up in all this." Steven said, brushing her joke off. "I'd feel bad if I didn't come to make sure you guys were ok in person. If I have time, I'm also stopping by and checking on the Pearls too, hope their place went untouched."

"Oh yeah, they got their own house just outside the capital, right? I'm sure they'll be fine, it seems like everything was aimed near or at the palace." Citrine shrugged. "You should wait till tomorrow maybe, I'm sure the Diamonds will notice you're gone sooner or later."

"You're probably right, I'll just give them a call when we get home." He gave a sigh. "Speaking of which, they're probably right Spinel, we should head back."

"Yeah, I don't know how comfortable I feel defying the other Diamonds like this, even if things are different now." She admitted, looking around slightly paranoid still.

"Yeah, sorry if I made you feel like you had to go with me, but I'm sure if they saw you sitting there alone while I was off in the capital, they'd be upset you didn't stop me, so at least now I can just tell them you came to keep me safe cause I wouldn't listen" Steven responded with a laugh.

"Heh, think nothing of it, I don't know if I would've been able to sit there while you went all the way here anyway, especially when you could've been attacked." Spinel chuckled, with a shrug as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"You guys all worry about me too much, I'm stronger than I look." Steven insisted. "But, nevertheless we should start heading back."

He then turned to his two Homeworld friends. "You two still up for an earth trip? Some stuff happened on earth and I'll need to check on things in a day or so."

"Yeah man, I'm still up to see what your planet is like, sounds like a good vacation from all this." Citrine nodded, looking outside the alleyway at the ruined buildings and trashed streets, still not a single Gem in site. "Now more than ever."

"I agree, things on Homeworld are starting to get heated," Dendrite nodded. "I'm sure you can guess, I'm not a big fan of heat." She said, smiling at her own little joke.

"Well you won't like earth then, I'll tell you that much." Spinel said, crossing her arms. "They have a star like right next to their planet."

"Really? I'm usually not assigned to planets with a star close by cause it would interfere with my powers, maybe I'll stay there for a while and get better at using my ice in hot environments. I'm sold, when are we heading to earth next?" She asked the hybrid with a smile.

"It'll be a couple days, I've been going back and forth between there and here a lot now and I think should stay here for a bit incase something new happens with this rebellion." Steven said, hoping that there wouldn't be another incident. "Anyway, it's time to go now I guess."

"Right, thanks for checking on us though, I mean it." Citrine said with a smile. Steven was about to comment on her uncharacteristic attitude before he got playfully slugged in the shoulder. "But don't go putting yourself in danger again, alright?" She chuckled.

"Heh, right then, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He smiled, rubbing his shoulder a bit.

"Make sure to call us when you go to earth next, maybe tell us a few days beforehand so we aren't busy at work this time." Dendrite smiled giving him a nod. "I'll see you then."

"Will do, I'll see you two later then, bye." He waved as he turned around to go back into the streets.

"It was nice to see you guys, call me at some point maybe." Spinel offered with a smile and a wave before rushing to catch up with Steven.

The two of them walked the silent journey through the abandoned streets. "It sucks to see the capital in this state...I'm sure this means we'll have to deploy soldiers to keep an eye on things, and that'll just make everything tense. Everything is falling apart after just one attack." Steven sighed, putting his hands in his pockets as they approached the warp pad.

Spinel moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Steven...listen, I understand that it's easy to blame yourself for this and that you would rather put all this on your shoulders because of that, but it's not your fault that this happened."

"I know, you say that and all, but in the end, if I wasn't trying to push an entire race of aliens to change basically on the spot, this wouldn't have happened, if I would've just taken the extra time to make sure everyone was ok with these changes and made room to work around what people didn't like, I could've prevented this. I guess I was just wanting to fix this place and get it over with so I could have my normal life back...I really am to blame." He insisted.

"But you're not the one to blame. I mean you're not even supposed to be here fixing everyone else's problems all yourself, and between you an me, it sounds like you're the only Diamond who's really trying to change this universe for the better." She says firmly. "You shouldn't blame yourself because some Gems want to keep being genocidal maniacs, you have done so much for Homeworld, don't forget that."

"I-...Right, I just hate that things can't just be calm, that we can't have peace. Why? Why does everyone just insist that I never get a chance to just live my life? Why is there always something else standing in my way?" Steven questioned, his fists clenched.

"Steven..." Spinel went to comfort him but he let out a sigh and held his hand up. "No, I'm fine. I can't just sit around being moody, I refuse to let this spiral out of control, I refuse to let this mess everything up."

"Yeah, let's just go home and relax for now, you of all people need it." She chuckled, quoting him from last night.

He returned a smile and gave a nod. "Right, let's just go."

The two stepped on the warp pad and disappeared, its light illuminating the dark area in its light for a second, before returning to darkness as a pair of eyes could be seen watching from the shadows.

**-=The Diamond House=-**

**-=The Diamonds/Steven/Spinel=-**

Steven tossed his hoodie onto his bed so he could remain casual looking as to not make the suspicious of him.

Thigh Spinel on the other hand opted to keep the hoodie for the night. The two entered the living room while the movie was just about to end.

"Aw Steven, you took too long, now the movie is over and we couldn't enjoy it with you." Blue said sadly.

"Heh, don't worry guys, I got like two more." He said, while reaching over to the table and grabbing a dvd. He swapped the movies over and sat down.

Spinel stood next to it while she watched the large screen in awe. "Hey, you wanna sit down?" Steven asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, that's ok, there's hardly any room as it is, I wouldn't want to make your uncomfortable." Spinel responded with a wave of her hand.

"No, it's fine, there's definitely enough room." Steven said, sliding to the side, making enough room for his friend.

"W-well, if you say so." She said as she sat down next to him, blushing slightly as to how close they were now, the warmth her gem returning yet again.

The two sat there, watching a movie about a antihero who used swords and guns to fight but also had a regeneration power. He was almost like a combination of Spider-Man in style and Wolverine in power, except he was actually funny.

"Humans make such a mess when they expire, honestly it's disgusting." White said with a roll of her eyes as she watched a man splatter against a road sign.

"Well we aren't as simple as *yawn* Gems, you guys are made of light and don't need anything to keep you going, we need food, water, sleep, and all that, but I can't say that I envy you guys, I mean how many Gems can say they've eaten before?" Steven chuckled amd gave another yawn.

"Right...you have such strange reasonings, but I guess that's just another thing you and Pink have in common." She smiled, Steven feeling a bit uncomfortable being compared to his mother in any light. When he was younger, he probably would've taken that as a complement, but now he know how bad she was and wanted nothing to do with her, much less be told he's anything like her.

He sighed before he noticed a weight on his chest that had been there for a while now that he thought about it. How looked down to see Spinel leaning into his chest while she was sleeping with her plushie in her arms.

After taking a moment to clear his head he gave a small smile, enjoying the sight of her peaceful face. He thought over today, how hectic it had been and how there were so many people trying to ruin this peace that they had gotten their hands on...no, he couldn't let them. If not for him, then at least for her.

He sleepily put an arm around her in a protective embrace and and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep as well.

And there the two slept for the entire night, with Steven against the arm rest and Spinel laying against him, sleeping peacefully without so much a a nightmare.

**-=End of Chapter=-**

**Ok, I'm so siCK oF tHiS bEiNg wHaT mY aUtTocORReCT tHiNkS iS riGHt oVER tHe pRoPeR wAy tO tYpE fFs! Any idea on how to stop this so I don't end up accidentally keeping this in a chapter?**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it took a while to get out but you know...here it is.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always: **

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	11. Pearls

**Alright, no matter how much groveling I do I just can't express how sorry I am for this taking so long, I know it's been a while, and it's not cause of something I can't control, I just wasn't sure what to do with this chapter in all honesty, and I can already see this story going downhill, but I won't stop here cause I got big plans.**

**Anyway, yes, I have heard of the account that is rewriting this story in Spanish, and while it wasn't with my permission at first, I decided to let them do it cause not everyone can read English.**

**Now with that being said, I don't want to see any other people rewriting any my stories again, if you catch this, please tell me so I can take care of it.**

**-=The Diamond house=- **

**-=Steven/Spinel=-**

The next morning Steven woke up to the smell of breakfast, him and Spinel still on the couch. He opened his eyes and looked down to see that one of the Diamonds had put a blanket over him and Spinel.

Then he realized that Spinel was cuddling up on him, still sleeping with a content smile. He blushed a deep red, realizing the implications of this now that he was fully awake, unlike last night.

He went to get up quietly, but she coiled her arm around his torso at the slightest movement.

He gave a sigh as he laid his head back down. "Guess I'm staying here till she gets up." He thought to himself, closing his eyes and taking the time to review everything that had happened yesterday and last night.

His trip to earth didn't go as planned, being interrupted by the issue with Ronaldo, and then finding out that if that book is as specific as the other, someone now has all the information they'll ever really need about him and the Gems.

Then after the stressful second half of that day, he came back to Homeworld only to find out that he had Gems rebelling against him, going as far as to have an all out war with his supporters.

Luckily enough no one he knew personally was hurt, but there were still many Gems shattered and the capital was in shambles.

He was close to having another breakdown, but Spinel was able to clear his mind before they returned to the house.

He then remembered the time that they spent together. If he was being honest, up till yesterday, he was still hung up over Connie. He felt alone in the universe for so long after loosing his best friend, as she had always been there for him when the Gems weren't.

Then, he met Spinel. She was a regift to him for his birthday, but as you could easily assume, he didn't just see her like that. Spinel was already truly his new best friend.

He was able to talk with her about his feeling on Rose/Pink because for once he had someone who would agree with him and not just get mad about his opinions on and feeling about her.

Then there was how she reassured him that just as he was there for her from now on, she was going to be here for him as well; something Steven needed to hear more than he would've ever thought.

And of course how she kept him from breaking down again last night. Now that he was thinking about her, he came to realize just how close they've grown in just two days. Maybe he needed her just as much as she needed him, what with the lonely lifestyle he had on Homeworld and just the stress of everything, he needed someone to confide in, someone to just be there for him whenever he needed it.

Sure, Citrine and Dendrite were good friends, but in the end, but he couldn't help but feel that they liked him just because he was royalty here.

So, in conclusion, he needed someone that he could trust to share his true feelings and thoughts with, as well as someone to keep him company, and she needed someone to put her trust in and attach herself to so she would never have to feel alone and abandoned ever again. Sure, maybe it wasn't the most healthy relationship in the world, but it worked for the time being.

Steven laid there for what could have been more then an hour for all he knew, listening to the quiet sounds of her steady breathing, making him aware of just how silent the house was right now.

A few minutes later, Spinel's eyes opened as she woke up from her long night of sleep. She found herself feeling unnaturally comfortable, more so than she probably ever had before.

The pink Gem then realized that she had her arms wrapped around something, or as she came to realize a second later, someone.

She too blushed deeply when she realized that Steven had an arm around her and she was holding onto him tightly.

"H-hello..." She said quietly, feeling the warmth in her gem spread to all over her body as an almost unbearable heat.

"Heh, good morning sleepyhead." Steven chuckled, taking his arm off of her, though much to her disappointment, as him doing so making the warmth fade away slowly.

Spinel stood up, letting his other arm go, giving a light chuckle as she spoke, "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be all over you like that."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Steven reassured her with a smile as he got up as well. "I assume you slept well this time?"

"Yeah, I didn't have any 'nightmares' and sleeping actually felt really nice this time around." She answered with a nod and returning a smile.

"Well I'm glad to hear that. Maybe you're getting over your anxiety already?" Steven theorized.

"Maybe, but i think it was..." She thought for a moment and decided it would probably be awkward to say that he was the one who kept her mind at peace. "n-never mind."

"What? If you found something that helps you sleep alright, I'd like to know." Steven insisted.

"Um, hey, what's that smell?" She asked, avoiding questions as she made her way to the kitchen.

Steven gave her a raised brow but decided to drop it anyway. Once they entered the kitchen/dining room area, they were surprised to see that despite the fact that breakfast was still fresh in the air, none of the Diamonds were present.

"Um...hello?!" Steven called out, peeking out through the door back into the rest of the house, no sign of his Diamond aunts.

"Wait, Steven, look at this." Spinel called for him from the table. Steven walked back into the room, noticing that she was now holding a device, inspecting it closely.

"What do you got there?" Steven questioned, stopping right next to her. "Something from the others?"

"I dunno, it was on the table with a doodle of what I think is you on it." She said, handing him a small paper with a cuddly drawn picture of him on it.

He gave a laugh as he took the drawing and put it in his pocket. "Yeah, I'm not all that good at the Gem language, and they're still learning how to write in english, so Blue usually just draws little pictures of what she's trying to tell me; she's actually getting drawing lessons from her old Pearl too."

"Really? A Pearl teaching a Diamond something? Things really have changed around here." Spinel said, handing him the device that was assumably for him.

"Yeah, it's like I've been telling you." The hybrid chuckled as he looked it over until he finally remembered what it was. "Oh, a hologram message."

He opened the little compartment on the bottom and pressed the button. A light shone from the top of his, prompting him to set it down on the table again.

"Hmm, I think I figured it out." Yellow said, seemingly fidgeting with the piece of tech. "Here Blue, go ahead and tell him what you just needed him to know."

The image went blurry from movement for a moment before Blue was seen in its place.

"Hello Steven." She said with a smile and a wave. "We have an important meeting to attend at the palace, and you look too peaceful and content to wake up." She said, giggling quietly as she peaked the camera around the corner to show him and Spinel sleeping on the couch.

"I made you two some breakfast, it's in the 'microwave' thing, make sure you eat it as soon as possible before it gets cold." She informed him.

"Blue, darling, will you please move it along? We have a long day of talking and paperwork ahead of us." White said with a sigh.

"Right, goodbye Steven." She said, her smile just as bright as ever. "Say goodbye you two." She said, flipping the camera to the other two Diamonds.

"Oh,...goodbye Steven, try to relax, we'll be home by tonight." Yellow said her goodbyes.

"Right, we'll be home soon Star Shine." White hummed sweetly with a dismissive wave.

"See you tonight Steven, stay safe." Blue said before the hologram disappeared.

"Heh, Blue is such a sweetheart." Steven smiled as he set the recorder down. "Anyway, guess that means we still get some food from her today, I wonder what she cooked up."

He opened the microwave to see two plates with hash browns and eggs on them. "Hm, guess she had someone go to earth to pick some stuff up...I just hope they didn't use my warp pad."

He set their plates down at the table, giving Spinel her glass of milk, this time with chocolate powder in it, and a cup of water for him.

"So, what is this?" Spinel asked, eyeing the new food curiously. "It's not the same thing we had last time."

"No, it's eggs and hash browns today, they're both pretty good with ketchup, but we unfortunately don't have any right now." He said, taking a bite of his food.

Spinel watched him closely before mirroring his actions, eating some of hers. Once again she was done with her food long before he was, enjoying the new flavor.

After they finished breakfast, Steven went to take the shower he missed last night, Spinel being able to sit back in their room with her bear, not having any issues.

Steven knew she'd have to get used to not using the crutch, but for now he was glad she was making progress so fast.

After his shower, he returned to his room and grabbed his shoes. "Oh, are we going somewhere today?" Spinel questioned, looking up from her book.

"Yeah, I fell asleep without calling the Pearls last night, so we're heading over there to make sure everything is going ok with them." Steven nodded, walking over to the warp pad.

"Oh, right, you wanted to check on the Pearls." She said, remembering what he mentioned the previous night. "So were going right now?"

"Right, grab whatever you need." He nodded, as he waited for her. "You probably won't need your hoodie, we won't be going to the capital this time, I had a warp made in their house that basically works like ours does: if don't know exactly how to get to it, you can't."

"Alright then." She smiled, grabbing her book and putting it into her gem. "Let's go then, I'd like to properly meet the other Diamond's old Pearls for the first time."

"Really? You knew Pearl back on earth though, right?" He asked her as she joined him on his warp pad.

"Well it's not like we've ever conversed before that, we only saw each other at the garden a few times." She explained before they warped away.

"Wait, now that I think about it, did you ever really leave the garden before? Like, even while mom was still here?" Steven said, finding it surprising just how awkward it felt to call her his mother nowadays.

"Nah, Pink never brought me out." She shrugged. "But none of that matters now, I'm trying leave my past back in the past; you know, trying to forget about her and live in the here and now...with you." She continued with a smile.

Steven in turn just gave a slight chuckle and a small blush. "R-right, sorry for asking."

The two of them finally ended up at their destination, almost immediately greeted by the blue Pearl who was sitting on the couch and drawing. "Oh, hello there Steven, is everything ok?"

"Hey Blue Pearl, I'm just stopping by to make sure everyone is alright here after what happened yesterday." The young Diamond replied with a wave.

"Yesterday? Did something happen?" She asked, setting her pad down on the table.

"Really? You haven't heard?" Steven asked, surprised she didn't hear about the chaos that enveloped the center capital the previous day.

He then went on to explain everything he knew, the followers starting a war, his supporters all being destroyed, the rebellion that was started against him.

"Oh my, that's horrible." She gasped, unable to fathom a rebellion being started right on Homeworld of all places. "I'm just glad you were safe, who knows what would've happened if you were still living in the palace."

"Yeah, I'm sure we would've had another incident by now, I mean, since we've left, we've had reports of our followers breaking in or at least attempting to." He said, thinking back to the multiple reports of intruders at the palace, all more than likely being followers.

"But in the end, me and Spinel were visiting earth at the time, but it's no safer there than it is here to be honest."

"I see, what happened on earth?" She questioned.

"It's another long story, all I'll say is that someone made a very detailed book about me and the Gems and it sounds like we're in danger, I'm not sure if it's connected to the rebellion or not though." He explained.

"Well as long as you're with the Diamonds I'm sure you'll be safe." She said with a smile and a nod. "Thought I must ask: who is this Gem that's accompanying you today? Are you sure that it's ok for her to know about the warp?"

"Oh, go ahead and introduce yourself Spinel." Steven offered, motioning to the Pearl."

"So, you're Blue Diamond's old Pearl? You seem to be as calm and collected as I imagined you would be." Spinel said with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"A Spinel you say?" The Pearl says, seemingly taking a moment to think. "You wouldn't happen to be the Spinel that Pink owned, would you?"

The pink Gem gave a slight chuckle as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "W-well I guess I am, yeah. But I'd really rather not get into all that yet again, I'm Steven's best friend now and that's all that matters."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I was pushing anything unpleasant into your mind, that wasn't my intent." She apologized quickly.

"It's fine, don't sweat it." Spinel chuckled with a shrug. "So, where is Yellow's old Pearl?"

"She went out to work with Pink." She answered as she made her way back to the couch, picking up the holo-pad she dropped.

"Pink? I thought Pink Diamond's Pearl was living on earth with the rest of her friends." Spinel said, now very confused.

"Wait, you don't know about her first Pearl?" Steven asked with a raised brow. "I guess that makes sense, you probably would've used that against Pearl in your guy's argument yesterday."

"Wait, what happened to her 'first Pearl'?" Spinel questioned, things getting even more complicated for her.

"Well, all the evidence points to White being the one who broke her eye, plus she was under White's control for what I assume to be a very long time." Steven sighed, thinking back to when he found out about White's Pearl's dark secret.

**-=Memory=-**

**-=Six month's ago/four months after Steven arrived on Homeworld=-**

**-=Steven/White Diamond=-**

"Yes Steven?" White Diamond hummed with her usual smile. The large alien ex-dictator had come down to spend time in the palace more often since Steven had convinced her to let him take the lead on making Homeworld a better place, but the time to tell that story is neither here nor now.

"I had a dream a few nights ago and...well it's been killing me not knowing this." Steven began, slightly nervous about asking the intimidating Diamond about this.

"Please do tell, what is it that's on your mind Starlight." She questioned, making him feel at least a little better about this.

"Well...your Pearl, she wasn't always yours, was she?" Steven asked, stealing his nerves as he expected a poor reaction from her.

"Oh, no she originally belonged to Pink before she had her earth colony, why do you ask?" She answered in a much more casual manner than Steven was expecting.

"Well...she's white now and her eye is broken...was that you?" He continued hoping the answer was no.

"Yes, those are of my doing. Now as I can already predict how upset you'll be about this, I'll explain myself." She sighed, sounding more annoyed than anything.

"You see, Pink had a colony at this point, she was so proud of herself that she decided to start acting more mature I guess." The larger Diamond began. "Now before you even get upset at me, this was her own choice, we gave her the colony assuming she could manage work and play properly, but I guess we were wrong."

"Not too long after she was given the earth, she began getting rid of all her little pets and toys, her Pearl being one of the latter." She explained. "So, she came to me asking for a more mature Pearl. Thankfully enough the poor thing didn't have to witness Pink tossing her aside, I'm sure she thought I was the one at fault for that."

"Wait, but in my dream the two of them- uh, us? I-it's complicated, but Pink and her seemed so happy together, why would she do that?" He asked, more questions appearing for every answer he was given.

"Steven, I don't think you have a proper grasp on what kind of Gem Pink was." White chuckled softly. "She surrounded herself with lower beings to make herself feel like the best, and as the 'best of the worst' she never saw those below her as anything but toys; little playthings for her entertainment until they were no longer interesting."

"Anyway, I'm sure you've heard many great things from her little 'friends' but that's only because she was more manipulative than even I." White said, seemingly enjoying the fact that the hybrid was visibly confused.

"Why do you think you know her so well? Why should I believe you?" Steven sent her a slight glare.

"Oh please Star Shine, I knew Pink better than anyone." White laughed amused by the conversation. "I mean she lied to her entire rebellion about being a Rose Quartz, and she personally bubbled all the Rose's in her human zoo just to cover her tracks. Think about it, did anyone else but her Pearl know who she really was?"

Steven took the time to mull it over, and now that he thought about it, Pearl really was the only one who knew and she was brainwashed into keeping quiet. He knew his mother wasn't exactly the best person but he never thought about her being this bad.

"Listen, why take my word for it? You can ask her old Pearl yourself." White said, the pale Gem appearing from under the ground. "That's what you were going to ask me to do anyway, right? Release her from my control?"

"I-...Yes, I'm making all of Homeworld let their Pearls be free and creating equality, that's my next goal." Steven nodded.

White gave a sigh. "Very well, go ahead and ask her about the many Gems she played with before tossing them aside I guess, since you refuse to believe me."

The Pearl dropped to the floor onto her knees as the white seemed to fade away, slowly being replaced by pink.

Steven made his way to her side and quickly helped her up. She put her hand against her broken eye looking disoriented. "Wh-Where am I?"

"Hey, don't worry, you're safe." Steven reassured her, still helping her stand upright. "Are you ok?"

"I...I don't know.." She said, seemingly regaining control of her limbs and being able to comprehend her surroundings. She took a moment to look around until her eye landed on White who was sitting there expectantly.

The frightened Pearl was quick to hide behind the stranger that is Steven, peeking out from behind him. "We need to leave, now!" She panicked.

"Don't worry, it's ok, she won't hurt you." Steven promised, wondering exactly what the eldest Diamond did to this poor Gem. "You're safe, I promise."

"Well? You have questions for her, no?" White asked, becoming impatient.

"White, she just came back, I think we should give her some time to readjust and have her own questions answered before we start barraging her with questions alrea-" He tried to argue but once more he was interrupted by the Diamond.

"Pearl- this is the half human offspring of your old Diamond, he has questions about the Gems that she used and tossed aside, he doesn't seem to want to believe me so you're going to tell him about them." White ordered.

"I-um...r-right, if I have to tell the truth, yes, she did that quite often..." The Pearl said, seemingly ashamed that she had to speak of her Diamond in such a manner, in fear that if she lied to protect her she'd be punished. "But, she was always really nice and had good intentions, I know she wasn't bad!"

"That will be all." White dismissed. "So you see now? Pink wasn't as amazing as you seem to think, so in the end you can't possibly be upset at me for the whole mind control thing with this Pearl." She smiled with a wave of her hand, completely underplaying this.

"What?- No, that's not how that works! Just because she wasn't exactly the best person doesn't mean you get to say what you did wasn't wrong!" Steven argued, becoming upset that she tried to use this as a distraction.

"I suggest you remember that I am still above you Star Shine." White responded, her smile fading as she spoke in a firm voice. "I'm just letting you play your little game, you wanted to run Homeworld and you thought you could do it better than us so that's what I'm letting you attempt, that does not give you permission to talk down to me."

"If I'm going to change Homeworld for the better, you three need to change with it." Steven sighed, refusing to back down. "I don't understand how my mortality works, but I more than likely won't be around to do this forever, you three need to adapt to a better Homeworld too, not just the Gems who work for you."

"I don't understand what has you so worked up, I let the Pearl go, she's yours again." White said, becoming frustrated by the fact that Steven was acting irrational in her eyes.

"You let her go, yes, but you still don't understand that what you did was wrong, no matter what led you to this point!" Steven argued, raising his voice at her much to the surprise of everyone in the room, including himself.

The young half Diamond sighed once more as he ran his hand through his hair. "Listen, I don't know specifically what you did to her, but you need to apologize and realize what you did was wrong. I understand that it will be difficult for you to change so fast but you need to at least put forth an effort, ok?"

"You know, you're really asking a lot here, but if that's what you need to happen then fine, I guess if Yellow and Blue are trying so should I." She reluctantly agreed, not wanting to seem unable to change while her younger sisters could.

"Alright then, start with an apology to her, maybe if you can actually feel sorry for your actions, you will see why you should never do stuff like that." Steven ordered, hoping that he was legitimately getting through the usually stubborn Diamond.

"Very well, though I still can't believe you're turning this around from being a conversation about Pink's horrible nature to what I did." She commented as she moved forward.

"White, this wasn't about my mom in the first place, you tried to turn it around to avoid being blamed for your actions, now apologize to her so maybe that can at least start to make up for your misdeeds." Steven said again, though he knew an apology was meaningless when someone took away thousands of years of your life.

White turned her attention to the Pearl. "I apologize for taking your mind and body over, while I'm not aware how I'm more in the wrong than Pink, I can and will acknowledge that the punishment I gave you was probably a bit harsh, and I apologize for that." White gave the Pearl her long winded apology that had slight undertones of sarcasm.

The Pearl in question just gave an uncomfortable look, still standing behind Steven. "I...I acknowledge your apology." She said plainly before looking to Steven. "Can I leave now?"

"Sure, I'll take you to my room and answer any questions you have so you can be readjusted, sound good?" Steven offered as he turned to her.

The timid Gem kept her eyes on the larger Diamond while she spoke. "Very well...lets just get out of here."

**-=Back to the present=-**

Steven remembered how she was (needless to say) super confused when he entered his mother's room. He had to explain to her what she did to create him and the consequences for doing so.

She seemed to be too emotionally drained to activity show her distress, opting to just sit down a cry silently.

Steven did his best to comfort her and while at first she wanted to blame him and hate him, she couldn't bring herself to do so. He had been nothing but nice to her and seemed to be a genuinely nice person.

In the end he never told her about what White had told him, as he didn't want to hurt her already fragile mental state.

"So, Pink really had another Pearl huh? Dang, I gotta say I feel bad for her. Not only was she abandoned by Pink but she was under White's control for all that time? I'm surprised she's even functional enough to have a 'job' here on Homeworld." Spinel commented after he finished explaining. "What did she even do to have White do that to her?"

"Well from what she told me, she shouted at White and let her anger get the best of her, resulting in her threatening to shatter White." Steven sighed, honestly quite surprised that White didn't do more to her. "You'd never guess she'd say something like that with her timid personality, did she have a temper or something before?" He asked the blue Pearl.

"Hmm, She was more playful, but not in any way was she an angry or violent Gem, I don't think any Pearls really are outside of that renegade Pearl of yours." She said, mentioning the Pearl he was used to with distaste.

"Honestly, you and Yellow Pearl really need to get over your differences with Pearl, we're all friends now, remember?" Steven commented, really wanting the four of them to get along.

"Whatever you say, Steven." The Pearl said, looking back down to her pad. "Anyway, if you plan on staying, go ahead and make yourself at home I guess, the other two won't be back for a bit."

"I guess we don't have much else to do." Steven shrugged. "Anything come to mind for you, Spinel?"

"Well you could go and join the Diamonds in their meeting. It sounds important enough to require you to be there too." Spinel asked the hybrid.

"Hm, I'm sure I've already missed out on half of it and they didn't really seem to need me, but at the same time, it is about the rebellion against me..." He took a moment to think of his choices, deciding that even if it is just a meeting, he should be present for any big decisions that would be made without him.

"Right, it's probably for the best if we go, meetings usually just entail us being told specifics of situations that are happening around Homeworld, but this is bigger than anything I've seen in the year I've been here, so I should probably be there. Better late than never, right?"

"Very well, I hope to see you two again soon." The Pearl nodded with a smile. "It was nice of you to come over, and it was nice to meet you, Spinel."

"Heh, nice to meet ya too." She responded, shaking the Pearl's hand.

"We'll probably end up calling after the meeting anyway." Steven said, giving her a wave as he made his way to the warp pad. "Talk to you later." Spinel followed him onto the pad before they warped away, heading to the palace.

**-=End of Chapter=-**

**So yeah, this chapter took forever and a half to make, as I was really struggling to find a reason for a filler chapter.**

**Anyway, like I said, I'm terribly sorry for the wait, and I thank those of you who are still reading.**

**Anyway, as always-**

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	12. The-Plan

**I know the last chapter felt super rushed, it seemingly just a one off chapter with no point to it, but I really had no idea what to do with it and I felt really bad for being inactive for over a week. I'll try harder with this one.**

**Anyway, let's get to the chapter lol**

**-=The Capital=-**

**-=Steven=-**

**-=Four days later=-**

Three few days ago, there was an announcement that Steven himself would be joining the clean up crew and helping them fix up the capital from the events of the attack.

For three days now, he had been coming to the capital and cleaning rubble as well as helping rebuild, being very apologetic to everyone about the attack, though they made it clear that no one blamed him, he still insisted that it was his fault.

Now, today was the last day of work for Homeworld, the capital would be a safe place to live once again. Unfortunately though, some Gems had other ideas.

In the shadows of an alleyway, multiple figures watched Steven working, him now finally being alone.

They glanced over to the other alley across from them, one of them giving a signal as a sign to attack.

In moments, Steven found himself surrounded by Gems, all of them had their weapons drawn. "So, you guys finally made your move huh? That's alright, I was more than happy to help clean up. Alright guys, you can come out now!"

Everyone have a look of surprise when a team of Quartz soldiers dropped down from the rooftops. "Remember, capture, don't kill."

"Yes, Pink Diamond!" They said in unison, the title of Pink Diamond being a slight uncomfortable annoyance to the boy.

He summoned his shield and the fight began.

**-=The Palace=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel/White/Blue/Yellow-=**

**-=Four Days Ago=-**

Steven and Spinel entered the meeting room, passing by a Topaz who was standing guard at the door.

"Hey guys, did I miss much?" The hybrid asked with a wave as he walked up into the room. There were two informants in the middle of the room who stood there awkwardly as they kept their heads down.

Steven found that weird, but not as weird as the expression Blue was giving White; she seemed upset, like White had done something to offend her greatly.

"Uh, guys? What's happening?" He asked, looking between his two Diamond aunts. "Is this a bad time or something?"

Blue went to say something but White spoke up before her with a smile. "No, not at all Star Shine. Please, take a seat."

Steven was unsure about her response, but sat in his 'him-sized' throne/desk, the three of them taking their respective sides to match the original Diamond insignia.

Luckily there was enough room for Spinel, he felt that her just standing there would make what seemed to be an awkward situation even worse.

"Steven, must your Spinel attend this meeting as well?" She questioned once she noticed the pink Gem. "I understand that you are happy to have someone around to keep you entertained, but this is a private meeting."

He gave a sigh as he leaned against his arm rest. "First off, I would appreciate you not describing my relationship with anyone as them being around to 'keep me entertained', I'm not my mom. Second off, yeah, she's staying here with me, this could take all day."

Spinel sat there, the awkwardness now enveloping her as well. She didn't feel comfortable doing something that White Diamond herself didn't want her to, but she decided that she would be more uncomfortable just sitting outside alone all day while she waited.

White decided to just drop the subject, though it did leave her ever so slightly annoyed. "Anyway, how about we just skip the last topic and continue on what this meeting was originally about in the first place?"

"Right, this rebellion is a bigger issue than that." Yellow said, seemingly trying to push the conversation on just as much as White.

Steven looked over to Blue, waiting for her response seeing as she looked to be the one who had a problem with whatever they were talking about, but she just sat there silently with a frown.

The two other Diamonds continued to converse with the informants while Steven waved over to Blue wanting to get her attention.

One the large, blue Gem noticed him, she gave him a smile and a wave. He tried to whisper over to her but quickly realized how that wouldn't work.

He raised his hand in front of his desk, bringing up a holo-screen. With White and Yellow distracted, he started a call with Blue.

The confused Diamond answered right away as the call came through. "Yes, Steven?"

"Hey, what was going on before I came here? You seemed pretty upset at White when I walked in." Steven asked, glancing to the radiant, white monarch.

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about that, me and her just had a small disagreement." She insisted.

He didn't believe it was really just some disagreement, but he knew he wouldn't get the truth out of her here. "Well- if you say so... anyway, what have I missed so far?"

"Nothing much, just some updates on how everyone is doing, and it seems that mostly everyone who wasn't fighting was able to escape the capital yesterday." She reassured him, speaking just as quietly as him.

"That's good, I'm glad that there wasn't really any more casualties than what we had confirmed." He said, relieved that this attack wasn't as bad as it could've been.

"Anyway, we should probably pay attention, they're about to get into the decision on our course of action now." Blue said, looking over to the others.

They hung up the call, giving their full attention to the conversation. "Listen, even with Starlight's new rules and laws in place, a rebellion like this definitely warrants shattering." White insisted. "We just up our security and interrogate suspicious individuals."

"While that would work, I personally think that we just hunt down witnesses and get descriptions of the attackers. That way we can just find and interrogate the Gems that are more likely to be actual rebels." Yellow countered.

Steven had now felt the need to speak up. "Wait, wait, wait." He sighed. "Neither of those are acceptable."

"I thought I adjusted her idea to a reasonable level of peace." Yellow said, unhappy that he rejected her solution to the problematic idea White had.

"Well, yes, your idea was much better than hers and it did show that you were trying to keep innocent Gems out of this, I just have to remind you that most Gems look almost exactly alike." He responded, not meaning to make her feel bad.

"Hey, wait a second now, why do I feel like everyone is ganging up on me during this meeting? I'm just giving reasonable responses to the situations we are presented with." White complained.

"White, no one is ganging up on you, your suggestion was just one that would've pulled many Gems into a situation that they had no part in." Blue corrected, seemingly done with her sister at this point.

"Ok then, if both mine and Yellow's ideas weren't good enough for you, then how about you bring something to the table?" While said, assuming he didn't actually have any idea on what to do here.

"Well, I think the best solution here is to bait them, if we give them a target to go after, it can be a trap, right?" Steven said without hesitation.

"You can't be suggesting what I think you are." Yellow said, already against the idea from the start.

"It's really the only way, I mean they want me after all, right?" Steven explained. "All I have to do is be easily accessible but not suspiciously accessible, any ideas?"

"Yeah, I have an idea." Yellow started as she crossed her arms. "You go back home and just relax in the safety of it."

"She's right Steven, you should just go home, you don't have to do this." Blue added, a sincere smile on her face.

"But I do. Yesterday, the capital was in ruins; building were falling apart if not demolished, Gems were shattered, and businesses that other Gems had just began to start up were also ruined. I refuse to sit by and let something like that happen again because of me." Steven said with determination, refusing to back down from his plan.

"I'm fine with this plan." White smiled, much to the other two's annoyance. "If Star Shine wished to be the one to fix this, I don't see why we shouldn't let him."

"White, do you even hear yourself?!" Blue shouted, much to Steven's surprise. "You're putting Steven's life at risk by letting him do this! You may be more than happy to do that, but me and Yellow actually care about what happens to him!"

"The way I see it is that it's either of your choices." She responded, her smile never fading as always. "If he decides that he wants to go and risk his life, then there's nothing you can do to stop him, I mean he convinced me to let him run Homeworld, I doubt he will let you two stop him."

Before she could argue, Steven began speaking. "She's right, I'm doing this no matter what you guys say."

"S-Steven no, I won't let you do this to yourself! You don't have to do this! Please...don't do this!" Blue pleaded.

"I too think this is a very bad idea, and it was my job to come up with war strategies, so I would know." Yellow spoke.

"I understand and your guy's' concern, but I do have to do this. Because of me, many Gems died yesterday and many buildings and homes were destroyed. It is my job as their leader to make sure everyone is safe, and with how it is right now...well, no one is safe." Steven explained, his plan seeming to be set in stone.

"Steven...I would also like to voice my concerns. I don't think I want you to put your life on the line like that..." Spinel spoke up, despite how nervous she was about coming in to a conversation between them. "What if you get hurt?...or worse?..."

Steven's gaze softened when he saw that she was close to crying. "Spinel..." he moved his hands to her shoulders. "Hey, you don't need to worry about me, I'm a lot stronger than I look." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"B-but...I just..." She let her head hang low, White giving an obvious eye roll though Steven decided to ignore the gesture for now. "I don't want to loose you already...is that selfish of me?..."

"Spinel, there's a difference between being selfish and wanting to be happy." He informed her as he tilted her head back up with hand. "So I promise you, as your best friend, I will make sure you stay happy, I promise I'll come back to you without a scratch."

"Wait, come back to me? I-I'm coming with you if you're doing this, I can't let you just go alone!" She panicked.

"I'm sorry Spinel, but I can't have anyone associating you with myself; I don't want you to have Gems after you as well." Steven sighed, hoping she would understand.

"No, we're best friends, we're in this together until the end! If you have a price on your head, then I will too!" She argued, fighting back her tears.

"Spinel, listen." The hybrid said with a warm smile as he pulled her close into a hug. "I can't let anything happen to you because of me, just like you don't want anything to happen to me."

"I know you want to make me happy and show how good of a friend you are, but in the end, what will make me the most happy is if you're safe, ok? Just trust me, I can handle myself."

She buried her face into his chest and let a few tears fall, each soaking into his shirt. She tightened her grip on the front of the shirt as she nodded. "Alright...I'll trust you. Just make sure you stay safe and come back to me then..."

The young Diamond gave a soft chuckle. "Of course, it's a promise." He said, sticking out his pinky finger.

She moved away from his chest and looked at the gesture, giving a small smile and a little chuckle, remembering when he explained what it meant. The pink Gem wiped the tears away and wrapped her pinky around his with a nod. "It's a promise."

**-=Back to the present=-**

**-=Steven=-**

The battle raged on, there seemingly more enemies than when they started now. Unfortunately, that overwhelming number that just kept growing was able to take out the team of Quartz soldiers that were charged with protecting him.

The hybrid was now backed into a wall, unable to fight them off anymore. He went to jump away but right after he had launched into the air, his leg was grabbed and he was slammed back into the ground, cracks now forming in the stone beneath him.

"Even after all this, you're still weak." A familiar voice growled. He looked up and the first thing he noticed were her horns.

His eyes widened as he realized who he was now under. "Jasper..."

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**Well there you go, we had a moment between Spinel and Steven, we had a fight, and we now have Jasper and a cliffhanger.**

**Now, I'm assuming you have all seen the new teaser for SUF, confirming without a doubt that Jasper is mad at him for taking away Pink or something like that.**

**Now, what will she do to him in the next chapter? I guess you just have to keep reading to find out.**

**Also, since I can't find a way to explain it in the story and it make sense I'll just tell you right here: the reason the rebellion is this active as soon as it is in this AU is because they didn't have the incident with Spinel and the earth to hurt Steven with.**

**In this AU, I'm sticking to my idea of Spinel having help from the rebellion despite it being disproved by Rebecca herself.**

**I think I've already explained why I refuse to acknowledge that as cannon before.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and as always-**

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	13. System-Reboot

**What?! A double update?! How does he do it?! Lmao, I jest, only a joke, I know many do double updates all the time.**

**Anyway, I wanted to save this till I have a sold idea for everything that I wanted out of the next chapter, but I was dying to get this out, so I'll do a double update in hopes that I won't be in too much trouble for taking a little while to update again.**

**Anyway, enjoy the second chapter of today.**

**-=The Pearls' house=-**

**-=Yellow Pearl/Blue Pearl/Pink Pearl/Spinel=-**

Whenever Steven would leave to go participate in his clean up duties, he would leave Spinel with the Pearls as they liked her and she felt pretty comfortable around them as well, though from the second Steven would leave she would just ball up in the corner with her bear, worrying about the day he wouldn't return.

Pink Pearl had decided to show her interest in the younger Gem, opting to try and have a conversation with her.

"Um- Hello there." She said with a wave and a small smile. The one eyed Gem sat down on her legs in front of her. "I don't believe we have really talked since you began staying here. Steven calls me Pinkie, so since it's easier to say than spewing out my facet and cut, I just go by that."

Spinel glanced up from the ball of anxiety she made out of herself. "Nice to meet you, I'm Spinel..." She said quietly as she gave he own wave.

"Nice to meet you too." The Pearl's smile got bigger at the fact that this Gem had even talked back to her.

"Did you need help with something?" Spinel asked, as she had been helping the Pearls around the house in turn for letting her stay, despite their protests.

"No, not really- it's just that...well, you're so energetic and happy when you first get here, are we doing something wrong?" She asked, making sure to keep a friendly face and tone as not to make her feel any worse.

"Oh, stars no, you all have been wonderful." She responded, mustering up a smile. "I'm fine, no need to worry about me."

"I see...so, what is it that you got there?" Pinkie asked, gesturing to the stuffed bear she was clutching onto as if her life depended on it.

"Oh, well I got this when Steven took me to earth. He brought me to a place where we played games, and I was able to get this. He told me to keep it on me if I start feeling anxious about him not coming back...but, it's not helping all that much right now..." She explained, looking over the plushie. "It really only helps remind me that he wouldn't purposely abandon me..."

"Oh, well that's nice. So, you're worried about something then? Is that why you always look so glum, sitting over here in the corner?" She questioned.

"Yeah...Steven is in trouble. I'm sure you've heard about the rebellion against him by now, right?" The younger Gem asked.

"Yes, the little war that took place throughout the day in the capital?" Pink nodded, thinking back to when Blue Pearl told her and Yellow about it.

"Yeah, well Steven blames himself and so he can catch the rogue Gems, he's been using himself as bait with the cover of being part of the clean up crew. I'm just worried that he won't return when they finally do take the bait." She explained, still doubtful that things would go so smoothly.

"I see. Yes, that is a legitimate concern that we should have, but I trust that the Diamonds assigned capable Gems to watch over him." The Pearl answered with a reassuring smile.

"Right, I mean, White sent them out to watch him, I'm sure she pulled out her most elite Quartz soldiers." Spinel nodded, feeling a bit better, even if just for a moment.

**-=Steven/Rebel Gems=-**

**-=The capital=-**

"Jasper?! You're behind all of this?! I thought we could be friends after I helped you!" Steven tried to argue, wincing as he felt the pain in his back settling in.

"Friends? Is that a joke? Why would I want friendship from the thing that actually took my Diamond away?" She growled as she pressed her foot on his chest, being careful to keep far away from her Diamond's gem.

Steven felt surprised when he didn't feel terrible about being told that it was his fault for his mother being gone.

Now if that was because he was over it or that he was glad she wasn't around to ruin more lives, he couldn't decide.

"She created me cause she wanted to, no matter what her motivations were, it was her choice to have me. You being mad that I'm here and she isn't, is just you being mad at her and her own decisions." He said confidently as his gem glowed.

"Don't you dare talk down to me in such a way you abomination! You were a mistake, the sooner you realize that, the better for everyone!" Jasper shouted, pushing her foot down harder.

Steven could feel his back begin to heal up, but the pressure on his chest became unbearable. He calmed down and thought about the situation from a realistic perspective.

He had been trained for these kind of situations, Bismuth was very thorough in making sure he could defend himself.

He grabbed her ankle with one hand and materialized a shield in his other. He used his Gem strength to hit her behind her knee, forcing her to kneel before wrapping his other hand around her ankle. He then used all of his strength to put her over his shoulder from her knee and flip her onto the ground as hard as he could.

He thought he had gotten her good, but she just chuckled as she slowly got up. "Well, I guess you have her fighting spirit, I'll give you that much."

Steven wasn't completely sure if that was a complement or not but he didn't have time to figure it out as she dashed for him.

"No one touches him but me; he's all mine!" She shouted as she brought her fist down on him.

The hybrid was lucky enough to shield the attack before it could hit, but the sheer force of her attack cracked the pavement below his feet.

He felt his spine and knees giving out and knew he had to do something before she really hurt him. He once more calmed his breathing and used her momentum against her, putting his shield at an angle so her fist would slide off to the side and strike the ground.

He took the short time he had before she recovered to slam his foot into the side of her head, sending her tumbling back a few feet.

"Ha! Where was this when we first met?!" She said, grinning wildly as she charged at him once again, this time in the form of a spin dash.

He was hardly able to dodge her rapid attacks, needing to use his shield at times, just managing to not loose an arm.

Once she came at him again, he summons his spike bubble, hoping that she would poof on this attack or at least be disoriented enough to allow him to run.

Unfortunately, she just launched herself into the air and landed on the other side of him. "I've learned about you organics, so I know you can't hide in there forever, and you'll come out eventually...and when you do..." She grabbed a spike and leaned closer to the surface of the bubble. "you're finished."

He backed away to the other side of the bubble. "You'll be surprised how little I need to survive nowadays." He said cockily as he leaned against the surface of the bubble. "By the time I need new air, you guys will have been caught already."

"Jasper, we really shouldn't play around here, we need to bring him back before she has to come out here herself and she gets pretty scary when she's mad..." A Gem spoke quietly to the Quartz warrior.

"Oh shut up, that runt won't do anything." Jasper waved her off. "Now, with that being said, I'm getting bored and he has a point."

She pulled out a destabilizer and slammed it into the bubble, the secure sphere dissipating almost instantly.

Steven fell to the floor and began backing away, his mind clouded with different scenarios of how this could turn out.

He turned around and began to run but she caught him by his shirt and lifted him to her face. "Well, you fought somewhat respectably up till you cowered away inside that bubble I guess, but that won't change your fate." She said, summoning her crash helmet.

"Wait-wait-wait!" Steven held his hands in front of him but before he could even summon a new shield, she head butted him once again, knocking him out.

**-=Steven=-**

**Location: -=???=-**

Steven woke up in a dark room, it only being illuminated by a barred window at the top near the ceiling.

He slowly got up, the world around him swaying back and forth before finally stabilizing.

He glanced around his cell, realizing he was alone. "Now is my chance to escape." He thought as he went to jump for the window, only to find himself on the ground right after.

"Wh-What? Why can't I go higher?" He questioned out loud before trying again, only to fail once more.

He went to use his bubble, but to no avail, next he tried summoning his shield, but as you would imagine, it didn't work.

"What's happening?!" He panicked as he sat down while looking at his stomach. He pulled his shirt up to see that his gem had been locked.

When he took charge of Homeworld, these were more commonly used to keep criminals from trying to escape prison while they served their sentence fully conscious, but they weren't available for civilian Gems, how would they get their hands on one?

He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard the door to his cell open, Jasper walking in with a couple of other Gems.

"Let me out of here!" He demanded, jumping to feet. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Well, some of us have our individual reasons, but all of us agree that you're changing things for the worse, and as loyal Gems to the authority, it is our job to get rid of you so things can go back to how they were." Jasper explained with her arms crossed.

She then leaned forward toward the hybrid. "But, I have my own personal reasons, as I'm sure you could've assumed. Anyway, we came to an agreement on what we should do with you. Grab him."

Before he could react, he felt two Gems grab his arms from behind. No matter how much he squirmed, all it did was intensify the pain.

"So I guess you wanna know what's going on, and since I'm half sure this will kill you, I'll just tell you." She said with a nasty smirk. "You see, we all have come to agree that Homeworld would be better off without you, but the Diamonds would be very upset. So, in your place, we're just gunna take her back." She said, pointing to his stomach.

"Wh-What?...What are you saying?..." Steven asked, his face paling, and his heart beginning to race in fear as she grabbed his shirt and pulled it up.

"Well, we're going to rip our poor Diamond out of you and free her. You're obviously some disgusting organic prison, so just like you did when I captured you for the first time, I think it's time for a little prison break." She chuckled darkly as she reached for his gem.

Steven began to panic, taking the opportunity to spit in her eye and kick her in the face with all the might he could muster as just a normal human.

"Why you little-" Jasper sneered as she slammed her fist into his chest, breaking quite a few ribs.

The hybrid shouted out in pain with an ear piercing cry of agony that echoed down the halls of the dungeon he was being held in.

Steven began squirming more, whimpering out for her to stop, a sharp pain appearing in his chest behind his ribs, therefore unable to muster any more than that without pain. At this point practically begging her not to, but it was all ignored. He felt her grip onto the Diamond in his stomach, and before he could process what was happening, he blacked out.

Once the hybrid was out, Jasper set the Diamond down on the ground as it began to glow. A wild grin spread across her face as she stood with a Diamond salute.

At first, she saw the outline of her Diamond, Jasper becoming slightly disappointed when it turned to the silhouette of her Rose Quartz persona, though she reminded herself that it was still her Diamond.

But in the end, her disappointment was justified, as the final form was that of Steven. "What? She chose that form?"

She reminded herself as well that she shouldn't question her Diamond, that she was probably just confused and disoriented.

"My Diamond, you're free from that thing now; I let you out." She said slowly as she approached the motionless being of pure Diamond energy.

Once she didn't receive an answer, so she decided to try again. "M-my Diamond?...Pink?"

"Pink?...Your Diamond?..." It spoke calmly I'm a monotone version of Steven's voice as it slowly turned its head to looked at her.

"Oh, your mind must be all jumbled up from being in that thing for so long." Jasper sighed as the Gems from earlier dropped him onto the ground. His eyes opening, as he felt his consciousness coming back.

The glowing, pink, emotionless being looked down to him and began to approach him. Jasper put a hand on its shoulder. "My Diamond, don't worry yourself with that abomination, let's just get you out of here, ok?"

Steven tried to get up, but he was quick to realize that he had no control over the right half of his body to the point where his right eye wasn't seeing out of his own...it was seeing from his gems's eye? As for the rest of his body, it was as if someone pulled a plug and disconnected him from it.

"N-no, I need it." He called out horsely as he reached and arm out, the pain in his chest worsening. He was scared, he was cold, he was hurt, and he could feel himself...dying.

"Your Diamond? Pink Diamond..." it said, this time it was less of a question.

"Yes, you're Pink Diamond, don't you remember?" Jasper asked, desperate to have her Dianond back.

"No. She's gone. Our name is Steven." It said in its usual calm voice as it turned back around and began approaching him once again.

"Wh-What?..." She asked, a cold feeling rushing through her.

It turned back around to look at her. "Our name, is STEVEN!" It shouted loud enough to send her and the other Gems flying into the walls of the cell and making Steven cover his ears while the lock on its gem exploded off. "Remaining threats decapacitated."

Once the dying boy looked back up, the entire room was covered in cracks and there was a small circular carter in the floor.

He flinched as it reached out for him, but to his surprise, it just slowly and gently turned him onto his back, though despite the gentleness of the movement, he felt a sharp pain in his lung.

"Searching for irregularities." It spoke, seemingly to itself. "Five broken ribs and a punctured lung. Systems failing, chance of repairs 93%. Chance of current survival 0.1%. Please try to keep on breathing through the pain."

He was confused, the pain had gotten worse, and his vision was fading, but he listened to what it instructed him to to and tried to stay awake, focusing on breathing. He winced from each breath, but nevertheless, he never tried to stop himself from doing so.

Though, despite his efforts, he felt himself drifting off...was this death? Why...did it feel so relaxing?

The pink version of the boy stood over him, realizing that he had just died. It stood over him before laying against the diciest teen.

A bright light lit up the room and they were one entity once again. "Brain is still perfectly intact, chance of successful revival 99%. System reboot."

Steven's heart began to pump once again, his lungs filled with air and allowing fresh oxygen to go to his brain.

They hybrid's eyes shot open as he gasped for air, clutching his shirt over his chest. He wanted to get up, though he found himself unable to move due to the pain in his torso.

"Wh-What just happened?!" He panicked, feeling as though he might cry. "Do not worry about it, revival was a success. Now- please be silent and relax so that I may repair your body."

Steven had so many questions, but neither the energy or will to even bother asking. What he gathered was that this thing in his head must be his gem and that it must've awaken by being removed from his body.

Then the gravity of the situation hit him: he was just dead there for a minute. The thought horrified him to no end.

Maybe five minutes of thinking about what just happened to him later, he was able to get up again, and he noticed that the others were all poofed, though none of them seemed to be cracked.

He could hear voices coming from down the hallway outside his door so he got ready and summoned his shield.

"Please refrain from combat; healing is only at 72%. Escape without conflict if possible." He heard a monotonous version of his voice speak, recognizing it as his pink self's voice.

"Why can you can talk to me still?" He questioned, becoming even more confused.

"Please focus on the task at hand, survival chances are at 45% and dropping by the second." It reminded him.

He shook his head and focused, he could ask his questions after he escaped. The hybrid turned to the bars on the window. "Can I break those bars out?"

"Healing will be reduced by 40%, but it is an acceptable escape route." It informed him.

He floated up to the bars and held back his cries of pain as he struggled to rip them out. "Three cracked ribs, two broken, healing reduced to 53% please refrain from letting it hit zero, I cannot revive you again, as you are running on low energy."

He let out a pained grunt as the bars finally let out, breaking the stone around them. He was quick to slip out the window and into the pouring rain just before two Gems rushed into the room.

"Go get back up, we need to search for Pink Diamond immediately!" He could hear one shout.

He tried to run but ended his falling to his knees due to the pain shooting through his torso. "Healing at 34%, please rest."

"Listen, I don't know what's going on with you, or why you can talk to me still, but we need to get out of here now, can't I heal any faster?" He asked, unsure of how he was healing as fast as he was in the first place.

"Negative, but I can strengthen you and your body as to not cause any irreversible damage, though due to your current state, the repercussions include complete drainage of energy, dehydration, unconsciousness and 40% chance of a coma, as well as prolonged healing, do you wish to proceed?" It offered.

"Yes, it's better than dying again, just get me away from here!" He panicked as he could hear shouting from around the corner.

"Overdrive accepted, you have ten minutes until shut down." It warned.

Steven could feel a warmth envelope him as he was surrounded with a pink aura, his hair waving as if it was floating. He felt much better now, in fact, he couldn't remember a time when he felt this good to begin with.

"Alright, I just have to figure out where I am and find a warp pad." He spoke as he jumped up extremely high into the air.

He noticed that he wasn't too far from the center capital, so before leaving, he took out his phone and snapped a picture of the building he was just in. It seems they took his communicator but had no clue what a phone was so they ignored it.

After he finished with that, he landed on a roof and launched himself towards the capital. Not long after he was jumping from roof to roof until he sensed something flying right for him.

He jumped up in the air right as a ball of water crashed through the roof right where he just stood.

The powered up hybrid turned around to see two Gems that looked awfully a lot like Lapis. "Two Lapis Lazuli: terraformers, but also potential deadly warriors, in your current condition, you have no chance to fight both of them, and it would decrease your remaining time by five minutes, leaving you with two minutes to reach the capital if you were to defeat them instantly. In the event that you do fight them, they currently have a nearly endless supply of water due to the rain, you wouldn't stand a chance. The best course of action is to flee at a faster rate. Concentrating power on speed boost."

Steven felt much lighter on his feet now, assuming that it was due to what the voice in his head said, so he decided to do as it commanded and run. "Speed boost negating one minute from your remaining time. You now have five minutes and forty seconds left."

He jumped from roof to roof faster now, leaving cracks under each step and the two attackers in his dust.

All in all it took him four minutes to reach the central warp in the middle of the capital. He was quick to jump on it, his mind set on getting to Spinel at the moment, maybe one of the Pearls could help him.

In a flash of light, he disappeared from the warp.

**-=The Pearl House=-**

**-=Steven/Spinel/Blue/Yellow/And Pink Pearl=-**

Spinel was pacing back and forth in front of the warp pad, as it had now been a full 34 hours since Steven had left for clean up duty.

"Spinel, I'm sure he's alright. He probably just had some sort of coincidental inconvenience that separated him from the warp, you should try to sit down and relax, okay?" Pinky offered with a smile as she patted the seat next to her. "We can get back to figuring out new fun games to play tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, I just can't relax right now; my mind just refuses to believe that anything good has happened." She said holding her bear close. "He shouldn't be gone this long, every minute is starting to feel like a hundred years..."

Everyone in the living area was surprised to see the light shine from the warp pad after all this time, while Spinel was overjoyed when she saw her best friend's face...well that was until she saw his condition.

The boy was bruised and panting, he looked exhausted, but the most notable difference was that he was now enveloped in a pink aura.

"S-Steven?..." Spinel managed to be the first to speak.

Despite his battered state, he was able to give her a reassuring smile as he staggered forward. "Hey, Spinel." He waved slightly as he approached her. "I'm back, I kept my promise."

The boy gave a weak chuckle as his eyes slowly closed, his aura disappearing as he fell forward. Spinel was quick to catch him before he hit the floor. "Steven! Steven wake up!"

He could hear her voice becoming more muffled as he fell unconscious with his hand in hers.

**-=End Of Chapter=-**

**Now, you may be asking why Pink Steven is behaving the way he is here. Well based off of an AU comic where Spinel actually kills Steven and Pink Steven comes out sort of like this, combined with the forgotten fact that Gems are basically computers or AI, I thought it would be interesting to make Pink Steven some kind of AI mock up that is there to insure his and Steven's survival, as we see in Change Your Mind, his one objective was to return to Steven and save his life and nothing was gunna get in his way.**

**Now, we have included power boosted Steven, this version of him will only be able activated when he is in a situation that has his life on the line. That being said, give me some suggestions on what this second form should be called, I'd love to see what interesting names you come up with. (Note: this is not his Diamond form, it's just him unlocking the basics of what a Gem of his caliber should be able to do with the organic body that limits it. So basically it's pushing his limits and giving him the power that's available to him at this point in time, though it's power he has yet to access.)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always-**

**Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.**


	14. Recover

**I'd like to apologize to the people who read this story on here, I lost my phone and my tablet, being the potato it is, didn't want to work with this.**

**Anyway, I have many chapters to spew out real quick, so I hope that makes up for it.**

**Now unfortunately there is something wrong with my screen on THIS APP SPECIFICALLY that prevents me from highlighting words, so things that need a bold font may not have it as well as things that need the slanted font.**

**Now I know anyone who's reading here probably has something against wattpad, but I have everything up to date there constantly and even a couple more stories, so if you're interested in that my name on Wattpad is Erebus1483.**

**-=Spinel/The Pearls/Steven=-**

**-=The Pearls' house=-**

After Steven fell into Spinel's arms all three Pearls rushed over to the two of them. "What happened to him?!" She shouted to no one in particular. "Someone help me with him!" She cried out, holding him against her chest.

"Spinel, please calm down. You have to let us see him so we can help, we can't do anything if you're holding him like that, ok?" Pinkie requested, placing a hand on her shoulder gently.

The younger Gem was very hesitant, but never the less did as she was asked, moving him away slightly, though still refusing to let him go. Blue and Pink got closer, inspecting him closely while Yellow seemed to be worried for his wellbeing as well, though unable to really do anything.

"I'm not seeing any openings in the skin, how about you?" Blue Pearl asked, looking over the exposed skin she could see.

"No, though his skin seems to have turned darker in some spots on his body, and some of his cloths are torn." Pink said, her voice heavy with worry as she inspected him.

"I think the renegade Pearl explained those to be bruises; results from human skin being hit with a great amount of force." The blue Gem explained, this time not even bothering to show her distaste for the Gem.

"That's right, Pink's other Pearl, maybe she can help with this." Yellow Pearl offered up her suggestion, knowing that they couldn't do anything about this.

Blue looked over to Pink who then looked down to Steven and Spinel. "It's ok, I don't mind, we just need to get him some help right away." She said with a serious look and a nod.

"If you're sure, I mean you can stay here if you like." The blue Pearl offered as she stood back up, turning to her Pink friend completely.

"No, I need to see that he will be ok." She responded without hesitation as she too stood up. "Come on Spinel, you can carry him there if you'd like, just try to keep his body straight."

She just responded with a nod as she coiled her arms around him gently. The four of them huddling close together on the warp pad before heading off for earth.

-=Steven=-

-=???=-

Steven opened his eyes slowly only to realize that he was in a void-like place. "Where am I?..." He asked as he stood up and began looking around.

"Subconscious has awoken." The familiar voice from in his head announced.

"Where am I now? What's going on?" Steven asked it, becoming slightly frustrated already.

"You are in our gem, to repair our body with what little energy you are able to generate from being unconscious, I need your mind to be less active, therefore I cannot allow you to dream, as that would take more focus off of healing you." It explained calmly.

"Alright I guess,...can you explain what happened to me? I'm so confused, and now that I'm not running for my life and we have time, I think I would like to ask you a few questions."

It seemed to take a moment to think. "Very well. Moving repairs to secondary urgency level, current repairs at 22%."

Steven waited until it seemed less busy than it currently was, but what he didn't expect was to turn around and see the nearly transparent pink version of himself from the cellar standing behind him.

He looked it up and down, realizing how it was almost like starring into a pink tented mirror; if not for its empty and emotionless stare, it would be too eerie, or maybe that's part of what made it as eerie as it was.

"So...I guess I'll start by repeating my question." He said, watching it carefully. "What happened earlier?"

"Which event are you referring to?" It asked as multiple screens appeared around them, showing all the significant moments from before he blacked out.

"When you were taken out of me...I died, didn't I?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"Affirmative; by all technical and medical means, you were dead." It responded without missing a beat as one screen remained, it playing over the moments leading to his death, this being clearly not understanding the emotional and mental damage that dying and coming back would bring someone.

Steven dropped down to the floor, leaning against an invisible wall as be looked over himself. "So it's true then?...I see." He said, shaking his head and trying to put on a smile to make himself seem more lighthearted. "I guess me and Lars have something in common now." He joked weakly despite the tears in his eyes that were threatening to spill.

"Sensing emotional stress. Recommendation: breathing exercises and reminding yourself that you are alive here and now." This Pink him said, offering what Steven assumed was its version of sympathy.

"R-right..." The hybrid responded, though it didn't help. "So then, what are you? You look like me, but you act like some kind of computer or something, or maybe that I'm some kind of machine." He asked his next question, attempting to move on from the previous subject.

"I am the embodiment of our gem, I was given a conscious when we were split apart. Now, we have yet to align properly again, it likely has to do with the stress and the sense of danger you feel throughout your daily life that is keeping me here." It explained, though it wasn't completely sure.

"Why is that? I've almost always been stressed out, why would it effect you now?" He questioned with a roll of his eyes.

"As I explained, I have been given a conscious mind since I was separated from you, as it is my prime directive to make sure we survive, I must have evolved as necessary to make sure that happens. So while it is likely that I'm only here still because of the feeling of being in danger that you constantly have, I also may just be like this from now on." It theorized, not seeming to understand either.

"So you're saying that you might be a part of my mind forever?" Steven asked, not exactly liking the idea of having a voice in his head for the rest of his days.

"Potentially, yes. Are you uncomfortable with my presence in your life?" The pink him asked, giving its own question.

"Well, maybe a little, it's just not something that you get used to with a snap of your fingers." He said, trying to not be rude. "What about you?"

"It is much easier to keep you alive if I am a part of you, if I was removed again, your chances of survival drop back down to 0.01% and that would go against my entire purpose."

"Right, I guess I can't really function without you, can I?" He sighed, thinking back to when they were split apart. "So I guess my last question right now is just, what did you do to me earlier that made me be able to get to the warp pad? I've never gone that fast or had as much control over my floating power as I did when you did that." The hybrid asked yet another question.

"That is overdrive, or at least that is what I have named it. We are a hybrid of an organic and a Gem, you being the human, and I, the Gem. Our power is limited to what this body can handle, and even when I was released and our power was flowing freely through the form I chose, I only expelled a little bit of our true energy as not to hurt or endanger you any further."

"Wait- so if you're apart of my mind, does that mean you can take control of my body?" He asked, the new horrible possibility popping into his mind.

"No, as it is now, I only have control over our gem, our body is under your influence alone, though I do suggest that you heed my advice, as I will only be here to ensure your survival, and only I know what is best for you every time you are in trouble, as my entire mind is set on your survival at all costs."

"I guess you haven't given me any reason not to believe you, I mean I would've died without you." The teen sighed again as he laid down on his back.

"Will that be all?" It asked, looking down to him.

"Yeah, I think I just need to be alone so I can think for a little bit." He nodded as he closed his eyes again.

"Resuming healing as the primary function." It spoke, having disappeared when Steven opened his eyes.

-=Spinel/The Crystal Gems/The Pearls/Steven=-

-=The Beach House=-

The four Gems appeared on the Warp Pad in Steven's tower, Spinel carefully taking him down to the living room by memory as the Pearls followed behind her cautiously. Once they all found their way down to said living room, they were surprised to see all of the main members of the Crystal Gems having a meeting.

Spinel made her presence known as she called out to them. "Guys, we need help, Steven's hurt!" She cried out as she approach them, but stopping in her tracks as they all rose up unexpectedly.

"What happened to him?!" Amethyst asked, rushing over to the two, followed by Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth. "Why is he all beat up like this?"

"He-" but she was interrupted by Pearl. "It was you, wasn't it? I honestly wouldn't be surprised."

Garnet put a hand on her shoulder. "Pearl, don't let your own biased opinions of her blind you; Spinel adores Steven, I doubt she would ever hurt him. Now Spinel, go ahead and explain, no one will interrupt this time."

Spinel went on to explain that there was a rebellion against him on Homeworld made up of Gems that refused to change, as well as the meeting that followed the next day and what Steven decided to do. "And he just appeared on the warp pad, covered in some kind of pink light before this happened."

The poor Gem was in tears by now, still refusing to let go of him. Garnet seemed upset as well, though she leaned more towards anger. "Why would the Diamonds just let him do something like this, I thought they were going to keep him safe."

"They were really against the whole idea of him using himself as bait but...I guess he really does still blame the destruction of the capital on himself to an extent, cause he refused to listen to anyone who told him he shouldn't..." Spinel explained.

"This isn't time to be pointing fingers, Steven is hurt and you're all just arguing right now!" Pinkie spoke up, seemingly getting fed up with them all, her presence being much of surprise to our Pearl.

"She's right, we need to get him in his bed and call Connie's mom over here, isn't it like her whole job to fix up humans?" Amethyst spoke up, turning to the others. "Call Connie and tell her to bring her mom over ASAP, Pearl. I assume you have her number in your phone, right?"

"I actually have Priyanka's number, I'll get her here right away, you guys go lay him down in his bed." Pearl agreed, pulling her phone out of her Gem and opening it up immediately. The others followed Spinel upstairs, Peridot about to ask why she was the one holding him, but Garnet put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

Once Steven was laid on his bed, everyone just stood around him, waiting for something to happen.

Around ten minutes later, Mrs. Maheswaran made her way upstairs, followed by Connie. "Alright, back it up, what happened here?"

"We don't know, but we think he was attacked by Gems." Spinel explained, slightly intimidated by the human woman who was taking charge in a room full of Gems.

"What do you mean you all don't know? Isn't he like in charge of all the Gems there now?" Connie said, pushing her way into the conversation.

"Young lady, I said you could come as long as you were quiet and respectful, because he's your friend. You will have no future as a doctor if you act so unprofessional." Priyanka said, setting down her medical bag. "Now, I need everyone to leave the room so I can look over him properly."

Spinel went to argue, almost to the point of looking angered that she would tell her to do such a thing, but Pink Pearl grabbed her arm gently. "It's ok, I'm sure his family wouldn't call her here if she didn't know what she was doing. We'll be right under him and I'm sure it won't be long. Ok?"

She balled a fist up, ready to insist that she stayed, but ended up deciding against it. "Fine, I'll let her do what she needs to. For Steven." She agreed as she stood up, turning to the doctor. "Just...please make sure he's ok."

"Of course, that's what I'm here for after all." She responded with a small smile. "I'm sure you guys have nothing to worry about."

Everyone headed downstairs so she could work on helping the teen in peace. The main Crystal Gems went aside and worried about the boy together, and our Pearl ended up speaking with the other Pearls, more than likely asking if they noticed anything off about Steven when they looked over him, though Pinkie looked slightly uncomfortable and Blue Pearl wasn't very talkative.

That left Spinel with Connie; Steven's old best friend. "So uh- my name is Connie; you look new around here, are you living in little Homeworld?"

"Little Homewolrd? What's that?" She questioned, unsure of what the human girl was talking about.

"Oh, I assume you don't then? Well, little Homeworld is a place that started being built a little while ago, it's where all the uncorrupted Gems and Homeworld Gems who don't want to live on Homeworld go to live." Connie explained. "Well, if there's enough room that is."

"Oh, well no, my name is Spinel; I live on Homeworld with Steven." She said, giving a weak smile as she offered her hand, trying to be friendly.

"I see, so can you tell me what happened to him?" The teen requested as she shook the Gem's hand.

Spinel went on to explain the situation with the rebellion and the meeting that followed where Steven formed a plan to become bait for some of the rebels. She then told her about how he came stumbling off the warp pad in the Pearls' house.

"Oh geez, I swear, he's always been too reckless and compulsive." She sighed, crossing her arms.

"Well, I would say that, I mean it just seems that he only wants what it best for everyone...else." Spinel said, coming to realize that he was more than likely aware of the great likelihood that he would end up in this situation or worse.

"He would have you think that, yeah. There was one time when he gave himself up to Homeworld when they were still trying to kill him. He completely blew off the fact that I had been training to protect him for months just so he could look like some sort of hero or something." Connie shot back, seemingly becoming bitter.

Pearl must've heard her as she turned her attention over to the human girl. "Well Connie, that's hardly fair. While I myself was admittedly upset about his decision, I also have to admit that no matter how terrifying that experience was, had it not been for that decision...well, none of us would be here right now. Now I would go back and do everything in my power to change the outcome of that situation if I could, but I can't. In the end, Steven saved most of Beach City including yourself and us."

"Pearl, how could you even say that?! If he would've just trusted me, we could've won; we would've beaten them and been out of there without Lars DYING!" Connie argued.

The room went quiet as Amethyst sent a slight glare over to her as Pearl just crossed her arms. "So you blame him for that human's temporary death? Connie, if her would've trusted you and fought them, that could have just as easily been you. There was a Topaz fusion as well as an Aquamarine to fight, you two didn't stand even the slightest chance."

Connie went to object but Garnet was quick to interfere. "It's true, I saw many different ways that she would've beaten you, but not a single one on where you two or even Stevonnie won. If you managed to beat Topaz, she would've just grabbed you with her wand, or in the one timeline where you somehow managed to beat her, Topaz was right on you and hurt both you and Steven very badly."

"Also, while what happened to donut boy was unfortunate, not even Lars blames Steven, and if this is really how you think of him and how you act towards him, I'm glad you two aren't friends anymore, he's way better off with Spinel. I mean honestly, why did you even come?" Amethyst said, angry about her attitude towards the hybrid.

Connie did a double take on the implications of her saying he's better off with this Gem, but just brushed it off for the time being. "Just because we aren't as close as we used to be, doesn't mean I can't care about his well being! If my mom is called out in the middle of the night to come and take care of him at his own house, why wouldn't I be worried about it?!"

"Well you weren't worried about his mental health back when you got mad at him for going to Homeworld alone! The Diamonds had to call us to Homeworld cause he deactivated the warp pad in his room and locked himself in there for over a week, rarely ever leaving his room because you wanted nothing to do with him! Not everything is about you ya know, Steven doesn't need to listen to your bull crap! He blamed himself and was actually mad at himself for leaving you here and loosing you as a friend, all because you want to be mad that he didn't bring you with him. Well news flash: he didn't take any of us either!"

"Enough Amethyst, I'm sure she gets it." Garnet said, putting her hand on the small Quartzite's shoulder, who in turn just stomped off over to the kitchen to be alone.

Connie just sat there awkwardly, not knowing if everyone else was still upset with her or not, she chose to say nothing more. She than began thinking about what Amethyst said, how he was better off with this new Gem. Had Steven already replaced her? Why was it bothering her? She wanted to know more about this Spinel character and her relationship to the teen.

"So, you said you live on Homeworld, does that mean you live with the Pearls?" She asked, remembering how she said that she was at their house when Steven came to her like that.

"Hm? Oh, no I live with Steven and the Diamonds, why?" Spinel responded, confused on the reasoning behind such a question.

"No reason, just wanting to get to know you since you're new is all I guess." The human said, the answer slightly annoying her. "They live in the same house?! Why are the Gems allowing this?!" She spoke in her head. "So then, you're a friend of his on Homeworld?"

"Yeah, we haven't known each other for too long but we're already best friends." She responded with a small but genuine smile.

Apparently Amethyst had taken interest in the fact that Connie was speaking to Spinel and made her way over to the two. "Oh come on, you two sleep in the same room, I'm thinking that's a bit more than just friendship." She teased, pleased with the slightly upset look that Connie had at the revelation.

Spinel blushed a little, trying to remind herself that she was only teasing her as Steven explained that she liked to do that. "W-well it's the only way I can sleep right, plus there isn't any other rooms there."

"Really? I mean I've seen the palace, there are many rooms there, are there not?" Connie questioned politely, trying to hide the fact that she was annoyed about this, as even she didn't know why.

Spinel quickly reminded herself that the Diamond House was a secret and that no one could know that they didn't live in the palace anymore. "W-well, I'm also just not able to be away from him for that long. It's hard to explain, but I just can't handle it; it was already hard enough waiting for him to come back from his clean up duties, I would really rather not have to be away from him any longer than that." She said quietly, slightly embarrassed by how much she depended on him.

"So, she's clingy? What does Steven see in her?" Connie wondered in her head. "I see, why's that?"

Spinel became visibly uncomfortable, realizing that she really wouldn't be able to just forget about those six thousand years as easily as she would've wanted. "Connie, don't you think it's a bit rude to question stuff like that?" Pearl chimed in, much to Spinel's surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted to know more about her I guess." Connie said, looking over to Pearl.

"No, it's ok. I realize I might seem a bit clingy, so I don't blame you for having questions." Spinel said, trying to prevent another argument because their conversation. "But yeah, I would really rather not tell my story for the thousandth time to be honest."

For the next ten minutes, Connie chose to keep to herself while she waited on being able to see Steven, cause she really was worried about him, though she didn't expect that she'd have to deal with all this while she waited for her mother.

Speaking of her, the doctor walked down the stairs and immediately addressed the Gems. "Alright, I did all I could with what I had I'm my emergency medical bag. He has an I.V hooked up to him; for some reason he was extremely dehydrated, a catheter which you will have to let me remove, and I changed his cloths to a hospital gown. He has a huge bruise on his chest and I'm pretty sure he has a few cracked if not broken ribs as well, though I can't know for sure without an X-ray." She informed them. "And speaking of hospital equipment, why in the world didn't you bring him to the hospital? I get that he's...magic..and all, but I'm sure is anatomy is relatively the same as a human's." She said, having never thought she would use that word in a serious way.

"Well there's a few reasons for that. First off, Steven has never been to a hospital, we just can't afford to let the government know about his existence, humans fear what they don't understand, and we don't want the planet that he's done so much for to just turn on him." Pearl began, glancing over to the stairs that everyone else other than Garnet, Priyanka, and herself was quickly making their way to.

"Wait- you're trying to tell me that the government has no idea that he even exists? Does he even have a birth certificate?" She questioned, finding the whole thing to just be insane.

"Of course not, no one outside of most of beach city and all of Homeworld knows he exists, who knows what kind of trouble would ensue if we tried to register him as a resident of this country? I mean honestly, this world's obsession with "aliens" is just too much for us to risk such a thing." She said, using the word 'aliens' in a mocking manner.

"I see...Yes, I guess I could understand that much, but he healed my daughter's vision, why not himself?" She asked, glancing around, noticing that Connie wasn't around to help spread some light on the situation in a way she could understand as a woman of science.

"It's tricky. While he seems to be able to heal himself with his own healing spit, Rose's fountain won't do anything for him; we think it has to do with him being neither a Gem or a human." Garnet explained to her.

"Wait- Healing spit???" She questioned, realizing she would have to have a long talk with Connie later. "Just take a sample of his saliva and use that then."

"We thought of that. Amethyst tried to do it, but it wouldn't work. Either something is wrong with his powers right now, or it just won't work without him actively trying." The fusion theorized with a shrug.

"You know what, I think I'm done trying to figure out how all this works, me and Connie should be heading back soon anyway. Make sure you remove the I.V as soon the bag is empty." She informed them before walking to the bottom of the stairs. "Connie! We have to go!"

Connie could be heard calling back from the top of the stairs. "Mom, I want to stay here and watch over him too, shouldn't someone who even vaguely knows what to do stick around?"

"That is not an option, you are coming home and going to bed immediately. Don't make me regret taking you with me this late." She warned with her arms crossed. It took Connie a little bit but she ended up coming down the stairs anyway.

"Again, thank you for coming out this late to help us, we honestly wouldn't have known what to do otherwise." Pearl thanked her gratefully.

"I'm a doctor who takes her profession seriously, if someone is in need of my help and can't get any from anyone else, I'm all but required to help." She nodded. "That being said, now it's up to you to make sure he recovers from all this. He must stay laying on his back and the bag on the end of his catheter must be changed once it reaches the line. I left you with all the stuff you'll possibly need as well as instructions on how to use them, alright? Just give me a call if something goes wrong, and I'll be here as soon as possible if I'm not at work."

"Alright, thank you, we'll see you soon." Pearl nodded, giving her a smile and a small wave. "Get home safely you two."

Priyanka gave them a wave as she approached her car with Connie right behind her. After the two of them were gone, Garnet and Pearl made their way upstairs to go and check on Steven. Everyone was huddled around his bed, looking down in worry for the damaged hybrid.

"Steven is going to be ok, right?" Blue Pearl asked the two of them after noticing that they had joined the group. "He's already looking better than he did not too long ago."

"Priyanka seems to think that he will be fine, we should just let him rest." Garnet suggested. "Spinel and Pearl, I know you two won't want to leave his side, so you two and you two alone can watch over him, everyone else can visit, but try not to have too many people in here at once."

It was obvious to everyone but the two of them what Garnet actually meant to do, so they didn't mind leaving the room. "Get along you two; for Steven's sake." She said before she walked back downstairs.

The two of them just obliviously sat in silence, waiting for the boy to finally wake up as everyone settled down in the living room downstairs.

-=End of Chapter=-

Alright, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Yeah, I don't have as much to say as I normally do, so I'll just get on with it.

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.


	15. Spinel & Pearl

(Context: I posted this on thanksgiving)

Thanksgiving huh? Surprised I found the time to not only finish this chapter in my down time, but edit it as well.

Oh well, enjoy the chapter.

-=The beach house=-

-=Pearl/Spinel/Steven=-

Spinel and Pearl had been sitting together quietly since they had been left alone; they were watching Steven for a while now before they looked at each other, the awkward silence that settling in over the few hours that they were there until Spinel finally spoke up, "So... I uh- I never got the chance to thank you earlier for coming in when that girl started asking me all those questions. I mean, I really am trying to leave all that behind so I can maybe live a normal life without hindering Steven all day."

Pearl just sighed, "No need to thank me, I know that some things are better off being left in the past and forgotten as much as anyone. Also, just so you know, I doubt Steven sees you as a hinderance in the slightest."

"Really? I mean, I'm sure even I would get annoyed if I had someone clinging to me all the time. I try to let him have his own time, but for some reason I still get anxious despite truly believing that he wouldn't forget about me and abandon me...I don't know, I just feel like a nuisance sometimes." She ranted, looking down to the unconscious teen. She gave a slight chuckle as she looked back up to the Pearl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent."

"No, it's really fine; it's a bad idea to keep your thoughts and feelings all bottled up and pushing them aside, especially when they make you feel bad about yourself, cause then you start believing them when no one else is around to tell you otherwise. Listen, I'm not the best gem in the world to go to for emotional support, but I know that Steven does like you, and quite frankly he probably needs you as much as you do him." Pearl responded, putting her hand on Steven's.

"What makes you say that? He doesn't really look like the type to have too much to worry about...well that was until the rebellion at least." Spinel questioned, wondering just what kind of person he was.

"Trust me, he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders for the longest time and never even told anyone how he really felt. First there was his mother- Rose left him here in our care, and while she wanted a normal life for him, the misdeeds in her life as well as the many corners she cut came back to haunt not her- but him." She explained. "So he had to deal with all that, and then there was in incident with Garnet that made him feel like he had to take on the burden of White Diamond and Homeworld alone, which resulted in Connie and himself drifting apart, and by the time he was able to come back, Connie really seemed to want nothing to do with him."

"Connie? That human girl from earlier? I heard you guys talking about them not being friends anymore, is that really why? I didn't know humans could be so petty, but I mean she at leased seemed nice..." Spinel spoke.

"Honestly, I'm not sure why she decided to stop being friends with him, it really wasn't that big of a deal... but he was devastated to say the least, refusing to leave his room in the Diamond house for a long time; he had locked himself in there and for a while wasn't even eating." Pearl informed her, thinking back to the day that they got a message from the Diamonds about Steven locking himself in his room for over a week.

-=Two months ago=-

-=The main Crystal Gems/The Diamonds/Steven=-

-=The Diamond House=-

Pearl, Amethyst, and even Garnet warped in on the warp pad in the living area of the house. "Where's Steven?" Pearl immediately asked the Diamonds, a bag in her hand.

Blue pointed to the hall that led off the side of the room, looking just as worried as them. "He's back there, the Pink door just two doors down. We can't get him to come out, and his warp pad is deactivated. It's been nine earth days and we still have yet to get him to come out, we didn't know what else to do..."

The three of them made their way back the hallway, Pearl gently knocking on the door. "Steven? We need to talk." She called, noticing that the scanner that would typically open these kind of doors was deactivated from the other side.

"There's nothing to talk about...please go away." She could hear his muffled voice say from inside of the room.

Pearl wasn't accepting it for a second. "Steven, we don't know what's wrong, but we're worried about you, the Diamonds say you aren't eating anything, you can't continue like this, it's not healthy." She argued, hoping to get through to him.

"I'm fine, leave me alone." He responded, resulting in Amethyst stepping up next. "Dude, you can't just be a sad sack forever, we all came here to help you; even Garnet came along, we're all worried for you, so you could at least come out and tell us whats actually wrong."

This time he didn't even bother to respond, prompting Garnet to give a try. "Steven, this is serious, we can't just sit by and let you deteriorate like this. You have ten seconds to open up, or else I'm coming in myself."

After nearly eight seconds, the scanner activated, allowing access to the room. The three of them looked amongst themselves before opening the door. The first thing they noticed was how dark it was; Steven had closed the curtains and turned off all the lights, blocking out what little natural light the planet had in the first place.

Pearl quickly made her way over to the window and pulled them open, letting light fill the room. It was then that they were able to see Steven, huddled up at the head of his bed, laying his forehead against his knees. "Geez dude, you a vampire or something?" Amethyst asked, hopping onto his bed with him, Garnet taking a seat at the foot of it and Pearl standing next to the three of them.

"Why are you guys here?..." He mumbled, not even bothering to look up at the three of them.

"Obviously because we're worried, Steven. We haven't heard from you in days and when we finally hear something about you, it's the Diamonds telling us that you refuse to leave your room; why wouldn't we be here?" Pearl argued, crossing her arms.

"Steven, I know you probably don't want to hear from me, even now, but we all really are worried, you have to tell us what's wrong, ok?" Garnet insisted in her usual stoic voice.

"Fine, but you all have to go away afterwards, I really just want to be alone right now." He sighed, looking up to them, it being obvious that he had been crying at some point not too long ago.

"First, we want you to eat and drink everything in this bag, I went ahead and made you two sandwiches, a bottle of water, and a bottle of orange juice. Please make sure you eat and drink all of this before you do anything." She said, setting the listed items in front of him one by one.

The boy felt his hunger and thirst hit him hard, his gem was no longer enough to sustain his snack a day habits and he was able to feel as much so he began eating immediately. The three gems waited patiently as he finished up in only a few minutes.

Steven felt admittedly a little better, his energy was at least returning to him, but at the same time he still felt terrible. "Thank you..." He said, being sure not to forget his manners just because he felt this way. "Now what do you guys need?"

"Steven, just please tell us what's wrong, we know this isn't like you so don't try and tell us it's nothing." Pearl demanded, taking a seat next to him.

He gave a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair and gave a sigh. "Listen, I know you mean well, but you guys really wouldn't understand." He insisted. "It's best if you guys just leave me to my thoughts, I'm sure I'll get over it."

"Nah man, we ain't goin' anywhere till you tell us what's up; we can't just leave without at least trying. Heck, maybe just talking to someone is what you need anyway." Amethyst shrugged, refusing to leave him like this.

"Yes, plus you already agreed that you would tell us, so we aren't leaving till you do." Pearl nodded, agreeing with her purple friend.

"Alright- Alright, fine." He groaned, giving in. "It's Connie...she doesn't want anything to do with me." He said leaning his head against his knees. "I guess she's mad because I left her there when I came here. Now she doesn't respond to my messages that much, and even when she does, it's just to give an answer to something important, and even then she refuses to deviate from that topic."

"What did I say Pearl? I told you that her apology wasn't genuine, I told you that she was actually like that." Amethyst said, turning to the aforementioned Gem. "But nooooo, your Connie wouldn't be like that."

"This really isn't like her, I don't understand why she would be acting like this." Pearl commented, seemingly ignoring Amethyst. "Are you sure there isn't just some kind of misunderstanding?"

Steven just shook his head. "No, she has a bunch of new friends and a boyfriend. I want to be happy for her, I mean she seems happy about all that, so I should be happy for her...but...it hurts. Why does it hurt so bad?" He said, tearing up as he hugged his legs.

"Hey man, it's going to be ok, just forget about her, I mean you're really popular here, I'm sure many cute gems would kill to be in the position she had." Amethyst said putting an arm around his shoulders. "So cheer up, I mean if Connie would really be so quick to stop hanging out with you and talking to you over you deciding to go to Homeworld and save a bunch of gems without her, then is she really worth it?"

He just shrugged, not bothering to raise his head. Pearl set a hand on his hair with a smile. "Steven, I know how you feel, I really do; I mean, when your mother chose your father over me, I was heartbroken, but eventually I felt better, I was able to find something else to love and care for." She said gently. "Do you know who that would be, Steven?"

He just gave another shrug. "Oh come on, you know exactly who that is." The Pearl said pulling him into a hug despite his resistance, giving a smile. "Go on, I won't let you go till you say it. Who do I love and cherish more than anything in this world?"

Steven could help but give a small smile and a light chuckle as he looked up to her. "Me..."

"Exactly right. Steven, all of us care for you and want you to be happy and will always be there to help you within our capabilities." Pearl promised, her motherly nature truly shining through.

"Yeah man, if you were feeling bad about Connie or whatever, you should've came to us; you'll always have people who love you, so it's best if you share your thoughts and feeling with those people, ya know?" Amethyst smiled, happy to see her brother crack a smile of his own.

Garnet went to say something as well, seeing this as her chance to let him know that she actually does care for him, that maybe he would start seeing her in a better light if she tried to cheer him up as well in his time of need...unfortunately enough though, she thought on it for too long and the moment had passed; the boy was now just conversing with his other family members, seemingly forgetting about her.

In reality, Steven was disappointed that Garnet didn't say anything to him at the time, but he tried to act like he didn't mind by talking to Amethyst and Pearl, letting the fusion sit there without bugging her.

Later that day, the three of them left, Steven agreeing to at least try to come out and find something to do, and while he knew it wouldn't fix the problem at hand, he was still happy that his family came to visit him, he was happy enough to go around and find something to put his entire being towards in an attempt to ignore or distract himself from how he felt about Connie, and that something was creating a proper civilization out of what Homeworld was at the time.

-=Current Time=-

-=Spine/Pearl=-

-=Steven's Room on Homeworld=-

I had no idea that something like that happened, I thought the only thing he had to stress about before the rebellion was Pink, I never would've guessed he had he had to deal with that what with how focused he was on Homeworld..." Spinel said, almost feeling like she failed him as his best friend.

"Well he isn't exactly fond about sharing his emotions and thoughts with others, to be honest I'm surprised he even shared his feeling about Rose with you. I mean, we all have a vague idea on how much he doesn't like her; he's made his opinion on her somewhat clear when he left for Homeworld in the first place, and even I must admit that his distaste for her is more than justified." Pearl sighed, thinking about everything the teen has had to go through as a direct or indirect consequence for her actions.

"I probably could've guessed as much, I mean the only reason he really even said anything about Pink to me was because we shared common or at least similar feeling towards her, and he used that to bring me down from my fit of anger..." She said, deciding to keep the time Steven admitted that he felt like he couldn't talk to anyone he knew because they all seemingly adored Pink to herself.

"I guess that makes sense, I'm sure he would be more willing to share his feelings with someone that he feels connects to those feelings." The White gem sighed, never taking her eyes off of him. "Listen, I would like to apologize to you for my attitude towards you. You seem like a nice gem, Steven really likes you, and you seem to really care for him, so maybe you're not as bad as I initially thought..."

"Don't worry about any of that, I guess I started it after all, I can't really be mad at you because you retaliated to my jealous insults." Spinel responded, holding her gloved hands tightly together. "I mean, she took you and left me in the garden, but in the end, you were probably closer to her than I was in the first place anyway; of course she would take you with her."

"I wouldn't really say that, I mean I don't think she even liked me before I suggested she make herself look like a quartz so she could go and have fun with the gems in the kindergarten." Pearl said, giving a slight shrug. "I guess I just wasn't playful enough for her like her other Pearl was, so I guess in the end, she liked you more than she liked me."

The older gem knew exactly why Rose didn't take her to earth with her, she wanted to be treated like a real Diamond so she abandoned all of those childish things, but even then, she kept Spinel around for a while after she traded in her old Pearl with herself; but Pearl just couldn't find the heart to tell her something like that; that she was abandoned for such a reason.

"Heh, I never thought you'd be good at making jokes." Spinel said sarcastically. "I honestly don't care all that much anymore...or at least I'm trying not to. This is the future, a future I wouldn't trade for the universe, cause now I have Steven, and he doesn't just see me as some kind of toy despite that being what I was made for in the first place; best friend isn't just some title or pet name with him, it actually means that we are best friends, and I wouldn't change that outcome for anything."

Pearl found this gem's love for Steven to be something similar to what she felt for Rose, but this was something more realistic and pure than a Pearl falling for her Diamond.

Lately, Pearl had been thinking about what Spinel said to her, about her being nothing more than a toy and how their love was fake, and the more she went over it, the more she began to realize how true it was. Rose seemed to always be leading her to believe she shared her feelings, but in the end, the only people she ever actually had a relationship with were human men and women who she found interesting..., she just mustn't have been interesting enough for her...her undying love and loyalty amounted to nothing.

Spinel noticed the sad look that the Pearl has and decided to question her. "Hey, what's wrong? Did I say something?"

Pearl just responded by shaking her head and putting on a small smile. "No, I'm fine, really, I'm just thinking about something is all."

Spinel didn't believe her for a second but decided not to force the issue any further as to not ruin what seemed to be their newly developing friendship. "Well, if you say so...Anyway, you were talking with the human who was here to help him, did she tell you when he'd wake up?"

"No, unfortunately she didn't give us any idea of when his consciousness would return, but from what you four told us about his condition, he looks to be healing really fast for a human, so I'm hoping that means he will be up not too long from now." Pearl responded with a sigh. "I don't know, I've never had to deal with something like this before, I have no idea if he'll be ok, or if he will even wake up at all... I don't know, maybe it actually was a bad idea to let him take on Homeworld at such a young age."

"I know what you mean, I'm scared for him too, but I just know he can recover, he promised he would make sure he came back and I believe in him." Spinel said, holding onto his hand firmly as she watched over the unconscious teen

"I can only hope that you're right, the Crystal Gems would take a devastating loss if we didn't have Steven, he's an important member of our family..." Pearl said, not even attempting to hide the heavy worry in her voice.

-=Forty Five Hours Later=-

-=Spinel/Steven/Pearl=-

-=Steven's Room/Beach House=-

Two days. It had been two days since Steven had been put into his bed, and neither Pearl or Spinel had left him for so much as a second, both in constant worry as they waited to see when his recovery would finally allow him to awaken. Greg had also came by first thing in the morning yesterday, and for the most part had been in the room with the two of them, but right now he was getting food for the first time today.

Spinel had her arms wrapped around his, snoring softly as she slept, her head laying between his body and his inner elbow. Pearl watched the two, thinking about how she once would've loved to see Connie and him like this, but for some reason this just looked and felt right, weather it was the fact that she knew this gem would never do anything to hurt him, or if it was beca she knew Connie already had, she couldn't really say.

The sun was setting now, illuminating the room in its warm, orange glow from the sliding glass door that was behind the white gem, Spinel being on the opposite side of the bed, thankfully not wrapped around the arm with the I.V in it.

The Pearls were still here, as were Lapis, Bismuth, Peridot, Greg, and the core Crystal Gems, all of them waiting for further news down in the living room, one or two of them coming up together at times to check on his progress.

Much to the shock of Pearl, Steven shot up from his laying position, his eyes flashing pink for a split second before going back to their normal brown color though that much went unnoticed by her. Spinel was woken up by the sudden jerking movement, her mind and vision all fuzzy from her nap. Pearl sat there for a second as he looked around cautiously.

Once he saw the needle that was plugged into his right arm he began to panic, reaching over to pull it out, though Pearl was quick to grab ahold of him to stop him. "Steven, calm down, you're ok."

"What's going on? How'd I get here? What's all this?" He began asking a barrage of questions, obviously not happy with the fact that he had this stuff plugged into him like this.

"You were hurt really bad and came stumbling into the Pearl's house." Spinel said, trying her damndest not to tackle him in a hug. "How are you feeling? Are you ok?"

Steven took a moment to absorb everything she had said, remembering everything from that day and the conversation he had with his gem side. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm all healed up." He tried to brush it off with a small laugh.

"Steven, we were all so worried, what on earth happened to you?" Pearl questioned, though she felt that she already knew the answer to how he ended up in this situation.

"Well, it's a long story, but let's just say that there are some gems on Homeworld that don't exactly like me and have been causing a little chaos." He explained, purposely leaving out the part about him deciding to use himself as bait.

"Steven, I know what you did; I know you went out there and used yourself to lure them out." Pearl informed him, much to his surprise. "I don't see why you thought that was necessary, you're a mortal boy, Steven, you can't go around risking your life like that!"

"Pearl, it's alright, I'm fine now aren't I?" He said, the memory of him being told he was temporarily dead coming back for a couple seconds, though there was no way he could tell her about that, especially if she was like this over him being hurt in the first place.

"That's not the point, you went out and used yourself as bait for a bunch of gems that hate you, what made you think that was a good idea?" She continued, determined to make him see that this was a bad idea in hopes that he doesn't do it again.

"Well it's better than just taking gems that we think are bad off the streets and hurting them for information they don't even have. Listen, in the end, I came out fine, I still don't see what the big deal is." He argued, even if he knew that was technically a lie and he just lucked out.

This time Spinel spoke up. "Steven, you can't think like that, what if you don't turn out fine one day? If you just go around worrying about everyone but yourself, you're going to get hurt again...or worse." She said, feeling terrible about agreeing to let him go out there alone, or even at all for that matter.

"Guys, it's ok, I'm here, and I'm all good, there's nothing more to worry about, alright?" He said, hoping to just put this behind them.

"No- It's not ok, you weren't alright, everything about this situation is worth worrying about!" The pink gem argued, tearing up slightly. "Steven,...I don't want to loose you. I know we haven't known each other for that long, but I don't know what I would do without you. It's not just me either, everyone cares deeply for you! All the other Pearls took emergency rain checks for their work just to be here until you recovered! Pearl has sat here with me by your side the entire time you've been here! And the rest of your friends and family? They're all waiting downstairs, coming up like ten times a day to check and see if you're awake or if you're going to be ok; and the only reason your...'dad' hasn't been here in this room is cause we had to convince him to take care of his own well-being while waiting for you!"

"You have so many people who love and care for you, when you do something stupid like this, you have each and every one of them worried, now including myself! I understand you want to help others, I really do, but sometimes you have to actually care for your own safety and well-being too!" She continued, the outburst of emotion being a very big surprise to the teen as well as Pearl, the former taking a moment to let her words sink in. "If you won't take care of yourself for you, then do it for us: for the people who love and care for you...please...you're all I have." She said, hanging her head low whitest saying that last part quietly.

"Spinel...I-" He was interrupted by the entire group of gems and his father coming from downstairs and into his room. He watched her lay hear head against his arm without saying a word as they surrounded his bed, asking him questions about if he was ok or not and just over all smothering him with love and attention, making what Spinel said hit harder.

-=End of Chapter=-

Cheeseus christ, thanksgiving is always a difficult day to get through without giving in to the urge to use that carving knife on your family.

Idk, most like today, but it's the most stressful time of the year for those of us who have to cook and clean, so maybe keep that in mind next time you see your parent cooking by themself in the kitchen on the days leading up to thanksgiving; you don't know how stressful it is to have to juggle dirty dishes and not burning the food.

But for those of you that help out, you're helping more than you probably think.

Anyway, I hope your thanksgivings go well, and for those of you who don't celebrate the holiday, I hope you have had a good day nevertheless.

And as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.


	16. Stress

(Context: Uploaded it the next morning)

Hello everyone; yes, this is another upload within the next twenty four hours, I just felt inspired to write and- bla bla bla, Yeah, this chapter might not be all that entertaining, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Anyway, on to the story then, there will be Connie, Spinel, Steven, and Pink Steven involved, that last one may not be the way you're hoping it to be, and you'll want it to be that way so much more once you read it, but if I'm constantly pulling him out, the times when he exists won't be all that special. :p

Anyway, enjoy-

-=The Beach House=-

-=Steven/The Crystal Gems/Spinel=-

-=Later That Day=-

Dr. Maheswaran came by earlier that day and much to Steven's embarrassment and discomfort, she had to remove his catheter despite him telling her he could figure it out. After a physical examination she left the residence, letting Connie stay behind.

The teen was taking a new interest in him that he found to be confusing and kind of out of nowhere, but he was more than happy to talk to her. Now Connie on the other hand wasn't exactly enthused about Spinel hanging out with them all day as well. She tried her best to get the gem to leave without making it seem like that's what she was doing, but she was staying too close to Steven the entire time, no matter what.

Connie wasn't sure why she even cared, all she knew was that she didn't want her near Steven anymore, not that she knew how she could go about that any time soon, but she did know that she wouldn't be able to get Spinel to hate him...so she would just figure out how to make it happen the other way around.

The human teenager let out a sigh as she discreetly made her way next to Spinel, the three of them walking towards the hill that Steven released the moss, letting it turn to flowers. They were going to this beautiful place so they could have a nice and peaceful picnic. "Hey Spine- oof" she tripped over her own feet on purpose, falling to the ground hard enough to scrape her elbows and knees. "damn, it hurts but at least that'll get me extra pity points I guess."

"Oh geez, are you ok?" The pink gem asked, offering her a hand to help her up.

"What?! You're the one who tripped me in the first place, don't try and act innocent!" Connie shouted, pushing her hand away as she looked over her scrapes. "Why'd you do that?!"

"Wh-What? No- I didn't do that." She insisted, holding her hands in front of her. "I didn't even see you walking next to me."

"Don't lie! I bet you would've done a lot worse if Steven wouldn't have been around!" She shouted at the confused gem, reminding Steven a lot of that "woman screaming at the cat who's just sitting at the dinner table" image.

"What? I really wouldn't do that, I don't even know you." Spinel insisted, but the human just kept accusing her and shouting so she decided to just get this over with. "Alright, I really didn't do this- or if I did, it was an accident and I didn't even notice, so I'm sorry if you think I'm trying to hurt you on purpose for some reason."

Connie was fuming at this point. "She's not suppose to apologize! Why isn't she getting mad or something?!" She thought to herself but didn't let her true irritation show as she just gave a sigh as she crossed her arms, accepting that this wouldn't work anymore. "Whatever, just watch what you're doing then."

Steven put some healing spit on his thumb and healed her scrapes without even saying a word to her! "Why didn't he even try and speak up in my defense?!" She thought, but just gave him an appreciative smile nevertheless.

"Alright, Spinel, you just stay on my left side, Connie, you stay on my right." Steven instructed, moving Connie to his opposite side much to her disappointment. "There, no more conflicts, just a peaceful walk into town, ok?"

"Right ok..." Spinel said quietly, taking note of his annoyed tone and assuming it was aimed at her, while Connie just smirked smugly as she noticed her expression. "Well at least I'm getting results in some way here."

The three of them kept walking, the rest of the journey up the hill being awkward and quiet, even Connie wondering why he wasn't being as talkative as she remembered him to be. "We're here." He said as the reached the top of the hill, overlooking the ocean and Beach City itself.

He pulled a blanket out of his basket and laid it out for them, setting out the food and drinks without saying a word. Spinel was seemingly trying to keep her distance from Connie, but the human girl wasn't going to give up just yet.

She casually approached the gem once again, keeping an eye on Steven as she did so. "Alright, enough games, why are you so stuck up his butt? Why are you even here?" She spoke quietly, her feelings for her coming to light.

"What do you mean? I'm always near Steven." Spinel insisted, confused as to why it would even matter. "He's my best friend, and I'm his best friend, we're always together."

"Well he was my best friend first, so I should be able to have some alone time with him; you got to be there through his entire recovery, so why don't you stop being so god damn selfish and leave us alone?" The human continued, keeping her voice low.

"Why can't we all just hang out together? I think it's nice that you want to rekindle your friendship with him after all this time, but he's my friend too, so I have every right to be around him as you do." She argued, crossing her arms.

"Every right to be around him? You're smothering him with your clingy personality, I think he would like to have a break from you following him everywhere like some dog and have his human friend that actually understands him stick around; it would be better for everyone if you just go back to whatever rock you came from." She said, rolling her eyes as she was careful not to get Steven's attention.

"Back to...where I came from..." Spinel's mind went back to the garden and the bad memories associated with the place. She shook her head and wiped away some tears, "Well I don't think he would like to be around some girl who treated him horribly, making him have a mental breakdown that ended with him starving himself half to death. I feel as his best friend, that it's my responsibility to make sure he never has to go through that again, so no- I won't be going anywhere."

"...Heh, ya know...this is a pretty big cliff. Do you know how easy it could be to frame you for pushing me off of it?" Connie smirked as she walked to the edge. "And knowing Steven, he'd throw himself after me in a heartbeat, and he would catch me before I was anywhere near the ground, and he would be extremely upset with you. Heh, he might not even want to be friends after that, I mean if you're attempting to kill the girl he once liked, and let's face it, probably still does, he wouldn't want anything to do with you."

Spinel felt herself go cold as she imagined a universe where Steven never wanted to see her again. "No...he-he wouldn't do that..." she insisted.

"Hm, guess we should find out then?" Connie shrugged as she made an over dramatic scream before making herself look like she was pushed towards the edge. Her one mistake? She turned her back to Steven.

Before she could even be in any real danger, she felt herself being held by the back of her shirt. "You're joking, right?"

Connie's heart dropped as she turned to see Steven already there, holding her shirt, him letting go at this point would let her begin plunging to her death. "S-Steven? It was her! She tried to push me off of the cliff! She got mad at me for taking some attention away from her, so she tried to get rid of me! Bubble her, she's a bad gem!"

Steven pulled Connie back onto flat ground with enough force to send her tumbling down onto her butt. "Ugh, could've been a bit more gentle to the girl in distress."

"Steven! I didn't do it, I swear! Please, I didn't try to do anything to her, she's trying to set me up! Please don't abandon me!" Spinel cried out, her eyes tearing up once more as she latched onto the teen, fearing that if she let go, she would never see him again, darkness clouding her mind as she began to get anxious.

To her surprise though, she felt his hand land on top of her head gently. "It's ok, Spinel, I know you didn't do anything." He reassured her as he used his other arm to embrace her. "I would never abandon you, so you can stop crying now, ok?"

She didn't even notice her erratic breathing until it began to slow down, her grip on him loosening but not letting him go completely.

"Steven, what are you doing?! Did you not see what she just did?! She has it out for me; she tripped me on the way up here!" Connie insisted, shouting at him.

Steven shot her a glare, holding Spinel close to himself. "You must think I'm dumb, blind, and deaf, don't you?"

"Wh-What? Why would I think any of that?" She asked nervously, hoping that this didn't mean what she thought it did.

"I was paying attention to you two back at the base of the hill, I was listening closely while making the picnic; I'm half gem, Connie, you gotta speak a little quieter and be a little sneakier than that." He spoke, his voice on the verge of shouting at her.

-=Flashback=-

-=Steven's POV=-

The three of them were walking towards the hill that he released his mother's moss on, him knowing it had the best view in all of Beach City.

He had been thinking quite a bit about his recent incident, mostly about the fact that he was dead, as well as what Spinel had said about him taking care of himself at least for the sake of the ones who love him. Needless to say, the teen was stressed out and needed some time to just relax and take his mind off things. Well that was the plan at least.

"Hey, Spinel-" He glanced over to see Connie walking up next to her but tripping almost immediately, the fall being very dramatic.

Spinel went to help her, asking if she was ok while offering her hand, Steven being glad that the two of them got along so nicely from the start...well that was until Connie began to accuse Spinel of tripping her up. He was about to defend her, letting Connie know that Spinel did no such thing and that she probably tripped over a rock or something but he was interrupted by the voice in his head.

"Stress levels rising, 45%."

"You can't measure literally everything with percentages, what's the one hundred percent stress even going to mean?" Steven questioned it in his mind.

"Mental break down, or a violent outburst, depending what feeling stresses you out over that line." It answered calmly.

"Listen, being constantly reminded that I now have a voice living in my head isn't exactly helping my stress ok? I can manage my emotions on my own; I've been fine this far, and I will continue to be fine." He argued, this only making him more upset.

He realized that Spinel had seemingly defused the situation as Connie was no longer shouting. He healed Connie up and to make sure it didn't happen again, he put them on separate sides of himself. The walk up the hill went by without any trouble; Connie walked quietly next to him and Spinel kept her head down for whatever reason.

Once they reached the top, he took in the view with a smile, calming his nerves ever so slightly. He laid out the blanket and began unpacking the basket for their picnic, determined to just enjoy his day. Buuutttt theeeeennnnn he was able to hear Connie trying to talk quietly to Spinel, taking this as only something bad, he decided to listen in.

"Well he was my best friend first, so I should be able to have some alone time with him; you got to be there through his entire recovery, so why don't you stop being so god damn selfish and leave us alone?" He could hear her say, obviously attempting to keep her voice quiet.

"Why can't we all just hang out together? I think it's nice that you want to rekindle your friendship with him after all this time, but he's my friend too, so I have every right to be around him as you do." Spinel argued back, thankfully not just accepting this from her.

"Every right to be around him? You're smothering him with your clingy personality, I think he would like to have a break from you following him everywhere like some dog and have his human friend that actually understands him stick around; it would be better for everyone if you just went back to whatever rock you came from." He heard her say, practically being able to sense the smug smile she most likely had.

"Stress levels rising: 63%"

"Back to...where I came from..." Spinel spoke quietly. He turned to see her ready to start crying but shaking it off. "Well I don't think he would like to be around some girl who treated him horribly, making him have a mental breakdown and starving himself half to death. I feel as his best friend, that it's my responsibility to make sure he never has to go through that again, so no- I won't be going anywhere."

"How did she know about that?..." He thought to himself, not exactly happy that someone told her about one of his break downs.

"Stress levels: 72%"

"Heh...ya know...this is a pretty big cliff. Do you know how easy it could be to frame you for pushing me off of it?" Connie smirked as she walked to the edge. "And knowing Steven, he'd throw himself after me in a heartbeat, and he would catch me before I was anywhere near the ground, and he would be extremely upset with you. Heh, he might not even want to be friends after that, I mean if you're attempting to kill the girl he once liked, and let's face it, probably still does, he wouldn't want anything to do with you."

He could've sworn he saw Spinel's face loose its color. "No...he-he wouldn't do that..." she insisted.

"Stress levels: 83%"

"Hm, guess we should find out then?" Connie shrugged as she made an over dramatic scream before making herself look like she was pushed towards the edge. Her one mistake? She turned her back to him.

"Stress levels: 96%"

Steven moved at surprising speeds, grabbing Connie by the back of her shirt with a glare. "You're joking, right?" He said, hardly able to believe she was behaving this way.

He could tell she was nervous when she turned around to look at him, a deeply hidden thought of letting her go came about, that not even he knew he had. "S-Steven? It was her! She tried to push me off of the cliff! She got mad at me for taking some attention away from her, so she tried to get rid of me! Bubble her, she's a bad gem!"

The hybrid pulled her back forcefully, making her tumble to the ground, Spinel running over to him obviously distressed.

"Steven! I didn't do it, I swear! Please, I didn't try to do anything to her, she's trying to set me up! Please don't abandon me!" She cried out, tearing up as she wrapped around him like her life depended on it, he was able to tell that just the thought was making her anxiety flare up.

He gave a small smile as he gently set his hand on top of her head. "It's ok, Spinel, I know you didn't do anything." He reassured her as he wrapped his other arm around her, hugging her so she would calm down. "I would never abandon you, so you can stop crying now, ok?"

He could tell she was coming to her senses gradually as she loosened her death grip on him and her breaths slowed down.

"Stress levels lowering: 40%"

-=End Of Flashback=-

"You need to go home now, I think it would be better for everyone if you went back under whatever rock you came from." He said with a glare, quoting her from earlier.

Connie was appalled that he would actually act this way towards her, "You filthy Homeworld scum, you brainwashed him, didn't you?! My Steven would never talk like this!"

"Yeah, well the Connie I knew would never act like this; I guess some people just change." He said, still not letting go of Spinel. "And I'm not your steven, now leave."

She just huffed before storming off, pulling out her phone so she could ask her mom to pick her up. Steven let his friend go, not even realizing how tightly he was holding onto her. "Oh- sorry about that, I didn't mean to squeeze you so hard." He apologized, now with a light blush.

"It's ok." She smiled, a deeper blush adorning her face as she didn't move away from him just yet, relishing the warmth that she felt. She didn't care that Connie was trying to set her up, she didn't care about the threats, and she didn't care about the past...this moment right here was enough to block all of that out. Unfortunately enough, she knew that holding him like this for too long would be weird, so she had to let go.

"So you knew? I thought you were irritated with me back there." Spinel chuckled lightly, relieved that he was being so attentive.

"Nah, that situation isn't what had me frustrated that much, but it's nothing really." He sighed as he sat down on the blanket. "Anyway, seeing as we're the only two left, would you like to continue the picnic as planned? I would rather the food not be wasted, as well as this nice afternoon."

"Right, you deserve at least a day of peace, sorry you had to handle all of that." She spoke as she sat down next to him, looking over the ocean and city.

"No, it wasn't your fault that she was acting like that, thought I have to say that I'm disappointed, I really thought that she wanted to hang out today, but I guess she was just looking to cause trouble after all. Oh well, at least I have someone I can trust to be here." He shrugged, handing her a sandwich. "Well, there are the other gems and my dad, but you're different I guess. I dunno, let's just eat."

Spinel chuckled at him, unwrapping the plastic wrap from her sandwich. The two of them ate their food in peace, enjoying each other's company.

A small figure watched them from halfway down the hill, opening her communication device. "The new Pink Diamond is alive and well, and he seems to care for his new pink gem very much, best course of action: use her against him."

"Do not act without permission, that is an order." Another voice spoke from the other side of the screen.

"Very well, as you say." She said before hanging up, recording the two of them. "How unfortunate for her, she seems like a good gem. Oh well, that's not my problem."

-=End of Chapter=-

Well there you go, Connie screwed things up with Steven (she's not gone though, you should assume as much.) and Steven is having a peaceful day without her; thankfully this gem isn't acting without permission, otherwise he wouldn't have such a nice day.

Now you may be thinking that the stress level thing feels familiar and...well I just love Mob 100, it's a good anime and I take inspiration from it. I mean of course Steven could never reach that level of power, but it's still cool to reference it.

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.


	17. I’ll do it for him

So I'll be honest, I'm underwhelmed about this chapter, and I have no idea how I could make it better, so you just gotta take it as it is I guess unfortunately. That being said, let's read what I would say has to be my second worst chapter in the story...at least it has notable plot.

-=Beach House=-

-=Steven/Spinel/The Crystal Gems=-

-=Next Day=-

"Steven- I know you feel like you just have to go back to Homeworld, but it's obviously not safe there, you should just let the Diamonds deal with things for now" Pearl offered to the teen who just gave her a small laugh.

"It's ok, Pearl," He dismissed with a wave of his hand. "I'll be here for week or two anyway, just enough to regather myself enough to come back with a stable and relaxed mind, ya know?" He said with a smile as he grabbed his clothes for the day while Spinel was sitting on the foot of his bed playing on his new 'GameStation' that he got on his last birthday, she found it difficult at first and got frustrated for a bit, but when he told her it was just a game, something seemed to just click and now she was just instantly a pro at just about everything she played strangely enough.

(In the movie, it is shown that he upgraded from game cube to a PlayStation or at least a parody of it, weather it's a parody of ps2 or ps3 I can't remember, so I won't say what she's playing specifically)

"Steven, have you already forgotten what Spinel said just two days ago about how you have to stop going in blindly and recklessly like that?" She said with her arms crossed, really hoping to convince him to stay here until this whole rebellion situation was taken care of, Spinel looking over once her name was mentioned.

"I'm not going in blindly or recklessly to anything, why do you think I'm taking a small break right now?" He sighed after getting his clothes together. "I've already talked to the other Diamonds and they agreed to take over for a bit and they also agreed to ask me if they want to change something big, so I'm taking this small break to not only let myself have some downtime but to test out how well they do on their own." He explained. "But it's not like I can be gone for long, they'll start undoing things and- ugh, just know that I have to go back, it's not a matter of how smart that decision is."

Spinel paused her game as she stood up. "Well, I'm worried too, but no one really knows about the Diamond house other than you guys and myself, as well as the Pearls I guess, but when he's here, not only do they know where he is, but the place also has no security." She spoke, offering her offered her opinion on the matter. "Oh yeah! Talking about security, do you think you can train me?"

"Wait, what? What do you mean train you?" Steven questioned, raising a brow at her. "What would you need her to train you to do?" He continued, knowing the likely answer to the question, though he was hoping that it wouldn't be what he thought.

"Well, train me to fight of course." Spinel said like it was obvious, though in hindsight it really was.

"Why would you have to learn to fight? I couldn't just let you go out to fight other gems like that, it's super dangerous!" He declared, trying to sway her from deciding to do this out of nowhere.

The pink gem went to argue of course but Pearl was the first to speak up. "Now Steven, that's not very fair of you. You let Connie train to fight by your side, and she was just a human girl, how is Spinel any more fragile than her?"

"It's different now Pearl, I've seen first hand how strong gems really can be, I wouldn't have put Connie in that spot if I had known about gems like Jasper." He argued. "Spinel is important to me too, I can't just let her go and risk her life to fight in something that she had nothing to do with, I mean at that point I'm no better than-..." He stopped as he realized who he was talking to. He gave a sigh as he looked away. "Listen, this is about me specifically, not my mom, not any of you, and not the Diamonds, this is my war to fight and I refuse to drag more people that I care about into it than I already have..."

Spinel glanced between them before moving over to him, grabbing his hands. "Steven, it's not like that, you're nothing like her, and I'm not being forced into this situation. I want to fight with you, and I want to fight for you, just as I know you would for me." She insisted with a smile. "I don't want to just stand helplessly by as my best friend goes out and risks his life to make Homeworld a safe place; not without me at least."

Pearl set her hand on his shoulder. "Even if you don't want her fighting, it's up to her anyway, but wouldn't you want her to at least be able to protect herself if she were to end up in a dangerous situation? I'm more than willing to help her train, but I think it would be better for you to train with her so you two can get used to fighting together, right?"

He sighed, knowing that he couldn't deny that logic. "Alright, but I'd like to skip over that whole 'you live for him' thing you did with Connie, this time, me and her start as equals on the battlefield, ok?"

"I promise, you two will being fighting for each other, not just one for the other." Pearl nodded. "Now, I think we should maybe do some warm ups to get her ready to fall into the training that Connie comes over for, she'll need to be at least a little caught up for when she comes over next week."

"W-Wait, Connie is coming to train too?" Spinel asked, suddenly feeling a lot less confident about her decision. Steven didn't want to start anything between the gems and Connie, and Spinel was ok not telling everyone just as long as Steven knew she was innocent throughout the situation, so in the end, no one knew about yesterday other than her and Steven.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Pearl asked, confused on why that would matter. "Despite how your first encounter with her, she's not a bad person, I'm sure the two of you will become good friends once you get to know each other."

"Even so, we'll be doing separate training anyway; Connie fights with a sword, I fight with...a few things actually, so now we just gotta figure out what you're comfortable using." Steven said, trying to reassure her that it would mostly be the two of them.

"What I'm comfortable using...how would we figure that out?" She asked, still determined to learn to fight by his side and protect him.

"You guys figure that out I guess, imma go get some proper cloths on if we're really training." He said, traded in his T-shirt for a red and yellow tank top and heading downstairs.

"Oh, a very good idea, Steven." Pearl nodded with a smile as she turned to Spinel, her gem glowing lightly as the younger gem just looks to her with confusion.

The young half Diamond entered the bathroom still a bit tired from the pervious night. He did his normal routine of brushing his teeth and putting deodorant on before finally getting dressed for their little training session.

The teen tossed his dirty clothes into the laundry basket as he opened the door, the first thing he immediately saw being Spinel in a new outfit.

His friend now wore a black sports bra and knee length yoga pants, her hair tied up in a single ponytail. Steven was needless to say flustered, though he did his best to hide it. "What do you think? Pearl says I needed less restrictive clothing if I'm going to train and fight, though this is only until I think of something I would like by myself."

"It looks good." He said, trying not to stare for too long. "But how did you even get those? Are you shape shifting?"

"No, I just happened to have some cloths in my gem from...well actually I can't seem to remember why I had those, but I do know that human females tend to wear this attire when they work out, so I let Spinel put them in her gem and now she can phase them on and then back to her old outfit until she finds something suitable to use in a fight, as her normal attire is too...poofy to wear in a fight." Pearl explained as she walked over to the warp pad. "To the arena then...or what's left of it at least." She said, looking over to Steven, reminding the boy of when he and Amethyst had their little fight.

The hybrid nodded as he made his way over to the warp pad, Spinel at his side. Once all three of them were ready to go, Pearl sent them off.

-=The Arena=-

-=Spinel/Steven/Pearl=-

The three of them entered the damaged area that Steven and Connie would train it, nowadays the two of them fighting their own separate styles with their separate teachers. Steven had found out that he could create his bubbles around anything, so when Bismuth found out as well, she offered to teach him how to fight with his fists, and now that him and Garnet were on speaking terms once more, she could teach him so much more since gauntlets were her weapons to begin with.

Spinel on the other hand had never had any experience with anything other than playing games, so she wasn't exactly the most confident in her abilities, but the passionate fire she had earlier about fighting by Steven's side had yet to even begin to die out. "Alright then, how are we going to go about this?"

"Well, do you have any suggestions? It's best to see if anything comes to mind when you think of yourself fighting. So, any ideas on what you think would be the most comfortable?" Pearl questioned with a hopeful smile, happy to begin training another who wasn't meant for fighting, spreading the notion that you can always be more than what you're told to be.

"I dunno, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of a weapon is a sword I guess." She shrugged, looking to Pearl in hopes that she would have a better idea.

"Well then, let's start from there and make our way through the other weapons, sound good?" She suggested, pulling a sword from her gem and handing it to the shorter gem.

She looked it over, the object feeling less balanced in weight than she would've liked but decided to try it out nevertheless. Pearl created seven Holo-Pearls who all stood behind her with their swords ready.

"Now, I want you to fight six of these so you can get back into the swing of things while I help Spinel find her weapon, ok?" Pearl said, turning to the teen as he summoned spiked bubbles around his hands. "Alright." He responded as he readied himself as well.

Pearl ordered six of them to fight at maximum capacity before taking the last one over to Spinel. "Um, will he be ok fighting all of those things? I mean they kind of have swords." She worried as she looked over to Steven who pulled his shield out to block an attack before swinging back with his lethal boxing glove of a bubble.

"Trust me, Steven will be fine, he's fought more than that on his own before." Pearl chuckled as she stopped in front of her. "Now, I want you to watch me closely, every move I make matters."

Pearl went on to try and teach Spinel about parrying attacks and how to keep her body stance just right, but she couldn't find a good flow for herself, the whole thing just felt uncomfortable and she ended up moving on to the next weapon. She tried a mace which was more a weapon against her than anything, gauntlets that worked surprisingly well for a little bit until she had trouble with learning anything other than the swinging part, and then she moved on to a whip, a knife, daggers, and even nunchucks.

Nothing was working and they had all been trying for the entire day at this point. "I'm really sorry guys, I guess I'm just not really a natural at this kind of stuff." She apologized with a slight chuckle, but her disappointment was clear on her face.

"Cheer up, you're doing your best here, I'm sure you'll find something eventually." Steven reassured her as he flipped a Holo-Pearl onto her back hard enough to deactivate her.

"Steven is right, just don't worry about it, I felt the same way when Rose first taught me how to use my spear, but I grew into it eventually. If we can't find anything comfortable for you to use, then we'll just have to pick the next best weapon and teach you that nonstop." Pearl informed her as she reached into her gem. "Now next, you will be trying a bo staff, from there we'll move onto other similar weapons."

Spinel gave it a weird look. "A bo staff? This just looks like a long baton." She said with a raised brow as she spun it around in her hand.

"I guess if you want to look at it like that, it kind of is." Pearl shrugged. "Those are usually used for fun, I assume you've used batons to entertain Rose back...er, you know..."

"It's fine, don't worry. But yes, this was one of her top three favorite pastimes, she could sit there for hours on end watching me twirl my batons." The pink gem smiled as she thought back on those days for a little big but shook it off as she felt the bad parts returning. She closed her eyes as began twirling it in her hand once more, seemingly falling into a dance of sorts.

She danced around with it, the staff seemingly becoming apart of her after a bit, making even Pearl impressed with her elegance. Once she seemed to be done, the white gem clapped for her, Steven standing on the sidelines in awe. "Very good, Spinel, I think we have found your weapon type."

"Really? Do you really think I could use this thing as a weapon?" She asked, looking it over with a look of doubt.

"Well, the staff was just to see if you had potential with other similar weapons, and I think I know just the thing that you can twirl around to your hearts content while also wielding a deadly blade." Pearl took the staff back and slid it back into her gem, pulling out, you guessed it, a scythe.

The blade was sharp on both sides, sharp enough to cut steel in fact. The younger gem took it into her hands slowly, looking it over carefully. The balance of weight wasn't as even as she would've wanted it to be yet again, but this time she felt like she could control that weight with the momentum that came from spinning it around.

"This isn't really like a baton, it has a blade so I don't know how good I'll be at it." She said, nervously eyeing the sharp piece of curved metal.

"It will be an easy adaptation, I promise." Pearl smiled as she turned to her Holo-Pearl. "While I'm not personally skilled with the kind of dance that you have to be able to do so you can use a scythe properly, I definitely won't have any trouble telling you how to adapt to it. Anyway, go ahead and do what you were doing just a minute ago, but swing more towards this Holo-Pearl, let's see what you can do."

Pear turned the copy of herself on a medium setting. "Now all you have to do is act faster and watch out for your enemy's weapon."

Spinel found it to be slightly difficult to focus on not only working faster, but also focusing on this hologram's weapon. "Your enemy will try to block your attacks, alter your movements to work with their openings, do you think you can handle that?"

She was feeling slightly overwhelmed but she thought back to the state Steven was in when he came back home, how she thought she was going to loose him. No, she couldn't allow herself to fail just because she wasn't able to keep up with this many things at once right now; she was going to fight by his side to make sure no one ever hurts him again, to make sure that she never looses him.

She stopped and waited for an opportunity to attack, finally getting her chance when it swung for the head. She ducked low as she twirled her scythe, scraping it along the ground as she rushed toward the hologram and swung right up its middle, slicing it cleanly in half.

Pearl and Steven gave her a stand applause, Spinel blushed slightly, embarrassed by the praise that the two were giving her. "Woo, good one Spinel, you really know what you're doing with that thing." Steven called to her with a smile.

"Well, I guess it's a good start to my training, right Pearl?" She asked, looking to her new teacher in hopes that she really was good at this and that wasn't just because of luck.

"Yes, you did very good for your first time using the weapon, you should be proud of yourself." She responded, proud that her newest student is already a natural at the weapon. "Now, we just have to practice every day until the group training day, that way I can just pack you two together and teach you how to use the best of both of your abilities to beat anyone while also having time for Connie. I believe that you can get much better in such a short time as long as you try really hard."

Spinel was cheering inside, overjoyed that she finally found what she was good at, now all the needed to do was get even better until there were no more threats to Steven's life, she knew from this moment forward that she would live for him, she would never let him be in the state he was just a few days ago ever again. "Alright then, I won't disappoint."

Pearl just gave a kind nod as she began walking back towards the exit. "Now, I want you to think over what you learned today and engrave it into your memory so that when we go to train tomorrow morning, you'll be ready."

"Alright, will do." Spinel agreed, struggling to find an angle that the weapon would go into her gem, eventually just deciding to carry it as she changed back to her normal outfit. "Hey, Steven, did you see me? I was able to beat the Holo-Pearl, I'm getting stronger." She said, obviously excited.

"Yes, I see that." He chuckled. "Just make sure that you don't over do it, ok?"

"Alright, I'll make sure I keep it reasonable." Spinel agreed happily as the two of them walked side by side back to the warp pad, continuing their conversation.

-=End of Chapter=-

Looks like Spinel is creating her own unhealthy obsession centered on his safety, I guess we'll just have see how that works out in the end I guess.

Now I know you guys probably think I'm intentionally trying to put Spinel in those clothes for laughs and whatnot, but in the end that's what people wear when they work out and you just gotta be mature about it I guess.

That being said, I'm all up for ideas on a uniform Spinel would use in a fight, just nothing unnecessarily skimpy, she's turning into a respectable warrior, not eye candy.-,

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!


	18. Talking Fusion

Here's another chapter! It's not exactly plot filled, but I personally find how Pearl acts towards the two to be fun lol

I'm not sure when the next chapter is coming, as I don't know what I want from it just yet, but if you get bored, why not read my alternate ending to Change Your Mind? It's my story "Rewriting History" and it is in fact an evil Steven AU.

SPOILERS for whoever reads it or wants to but (read backwards so you can't say you accidentally read it when you glanced over it) s'tI a todivetS yrots tub m'I gnikam a lenivetS etanretla tuor esuac I evol eht pihs oot hcum ton ot.

Please try not to share what that says so people will remain unspoiled, I'll probably just take the comment down anyway tbh. .x.

Unless it's right here, in that case, go ahead for those who don't want to read the whole thing, and to those people who actually plan to read it,...well you've been warned I guess.

-=Spinel/Steven=-

-=Beach House=-

Steven and Spinel have been training vigorously, Spinel having made an amazing amount of progress, it being easy to tell that she was excited to begin fighting with Steven. Well luckily for her, today was the day that would happen. Connie was coming over and they were all training today, and that meant the two of them would be finding better ways to fight with each other and support the other's weak points while making their strengths all the stronger.

"Hey Stevo, you excited for today's training lesson?" Spinel asked her friend as she joined him on the couch, the pink gem recently learning the concept of a nickname and deciding that it would be fun to give him some, his new nicknames consisting of Stevie and of course Stevo as she just said.

The teen gave a chuckle in response, "You bet, though I don't know if I could keep up with you all that well, I mean the way you fight is like a graceful dance of war and half the time I just end up watching in amazement at how far you've come in this past week."

"Aw shucks, you're give me too much credit here, it's a lot in part to Pearl's help, but hey, you're a good fighter too, it makes me wonder how you even lost to the rebels in the first place." Spinel questioned, recently finding out that the hybrid really was a lot stronger than she initially thought he was.

"I'm not really sure, I think I just started panicking when the guards that were given the job of defending me were being shattered one by one and then it only got worse when I saw it was Jasper who was leading the attack...I mean, I didn't want to hurt her, I thought we were starting to become friends after we uncorrupted her, but she still seems to hate me, and this time it's specifically me, not Rose... and in a weird way, somehow people hating me for something that I've done feels a lot better than if I'm being blamed for something that my mom did." He explained before realizing he was deviating from the question. "But uh- yeah, I guess I was just taken off guard and by the time I was able to accept the fact that she was still my enemy, I had already been restrained."

Spinel noticed his glum attitude that he was trying to hide. "Oh geez, you know you can talk about whatever happened between you two if you want, I'm still here for you, and that goes for more than just being here to fight for you." She offered as she grabbed his hand.

Steven wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to tell her about this voice, he wanted to tell her about Pink Steven and his boosted power, and he wanted to tell he about how he was...dead. He wanted to get all of this off of his chest, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell her those things as he knew that telling her about his unfortunate temporary demise would only upset her and telling her about anything else would lead back to that...so he couldn't tell her, once again he had to keep his thoughts and feelings to himself for the sake of others. When he thought about it like that he realized it sounded like he was blaming them for it but he didn't hold any resentment towards them, those would just be natural responses to something like that after all.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He said, putting on a smile with a dismissive wave as Pearl walked into the house with Connie in tow. "Let's just hope everyone can get along this time around." He added quietly.

The two of them joined Pearl and her other student, Steven being the first to address her. "Hey Pearl, are we going off for training now?"

"Yes, I was just about to come and get the two of you." She responded with a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Wait, the two of them? Will someone be joining us for training today?" Connie asked as she set her bag down by the kitchen, dreading the response she already figured she would get.

"Yes, in light of recent events, Spinel wants to get stronger so that she can fight with Steven without him having to worry about her getting hurt." Pearl explained, completely oblivious to the mood of the room. "In fact, she's been training almost nonstop for an entire week now so she could fight by his side equally and protect him. It's actually quite similar as to why you once fought, but now that you and Steven hardly even speak and he lives on Homeoworld for the most part, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that he is in capable hands."

Connie just stared at the pink gem who was standing behind Steven, now in her training cloths. "I'm not completely helpless ya know." The hybrid chuckled. "But yeah, even if I'm not exactly all for her putting herself in danger, it's really up to her; that's why I've been training, so I could protect her as well."

"But...what about Stevonnie?" Connie asked, not sure why this was getting to her, she had a boyfriend now after all. "And all those days we spent training together? What about all of that?"

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, I could ask you the same thing. I mean, up till my recovery...you didn't want anything to do with me..." Steven said, obviously uncomfortable about having to address the subject. "Since I've met Spinel, me and her have gotten close and she's helped me through some things I never thought I'd be able to confide in anyone."

"Right...so you two are a couple now then? Is that what this is?" Connie questioned, surprising Pearl on how big of a deal this was to the human.

"Not that it should matter to you what our relationship is, but it's not like that, she's my best friend and we have promised to always be there for each other, and that means if we have to be able to do so with weapons and fighting, then that's just the reality of the situation." He shrugged as he started making his way over to the warp pad along with Pearl and the gem in question. "Listen, let's just try not to make this another incident like last week; we're willing to put that in the past if you can just be neutral about this whole thing, I mean Spinel isn't a bad gem."

"Oh? Did something happen between you three?" Pearl asked with a raised brow, previously unaware that she was being left out when it came to issues they were having.

"Nah, everything is fine, don't worry about it." Spinel responded quietly. "I'm sure she was just having a bad day, it's really nothing."

Connie didn't say anything as she pulled her sword out of her bag and walked over to the warp pad with the rest of them. She stood on the opposite end of Pearl with a blank face and a tight grip on her weapon. Steven and Spinel just looked at each other, the former giving a shrug as they all just stood there in silence for a bit.

"Alright then, if you say so. Anyway, we're burning daylight, let's get to it then." Pearl instructed with a smile, trying to lighten the mood before warping everyone to the arena.

-=The Arena=-

The group flashed into the training arena, the silence only being broken when they appeared. "Alright you three, today is going to be a long one so I hope you're all well rested." Pearl informed them as she walked ahead of them and towards the main area.

"Yes ma'am, what are we doing today?" Connie asked formally, doing her best to keep her mind strictly on training, honestly somewhat embarrassed by her behavior last week, or maybe she was just embarrassed because she was caught.

"Well as usual you will be doing your exercises and stretches before you fight the holo-Pearls as to stay in battle shape." Pearl informed her as she stopped and turned to the trio. "As for Spinel and Steven, they will be learning to fight as a duo since they will inevitably have to fight together at one point or another what with this...rebellion."

"Oh, I see. Alright then, I'll get to it right away." She nodded as her grip on her sword tightened even more. The human teen set the aforementioned weapon aside before starting her stretches.

"I'll be with you momentarily Connie." Pearl called to her with a wave before turning to Steven and Spinel. "Alright, it would be best if you did your stretches first, Steven. You have a human body too you know."

The hybrid gave a sigh. "Yeah, that's fair. Sorry Spinel, I gotta get ready before we can start." He apologized to his friend with a smile. "It should be pretty quick though."

"Don't sweat it, take all the time you need." She said as she pulled her scythe from her gem, apparently having found out how to put it in and pull it out with ease. "So, what are we doing after he gets ready to start?" She asked Pearl, propping herself up with her weapon as she put all her weight on it.

"Well, I was going to suggest you two try and fuse today, but with the kind of relationship you two have, I would personally like to know you two had your first fusion together under...well under different circumstances and it happen because you wanted it to, not because I told you to. So I guess today you'll be learning how to support each other's weaknesses in a fight." Her mentor explained to the now blushing gem.

"F-f-fusion?..." She fumbled with her words as her face heated up to an almost unbearable level. "I-I um, I've never thought of- of doing something like that..." The pink gem said quietly as she played with one of her pigtails, flustered by the notion.

Pearl gave a knowing chuckle. "Don't worry, you can move at your own pace, and remember: it's not against the rules to fuse with other gems anymore, not even with him, Diamond or not. Knowing that though, you should only move at your own leisure, if either one of you is uncomfortable with it, your fusion will turn out unstable and it could just ruin the entire experience."

"B-But when will I know if I'm ready? And what if he isn't ready? I mean, doing something like that is a big deal, what if he doesn't feel the same way and me trying to do that just pushes him away?" She questioned, seemingly having a mini panic attack at the thought of rushing him in to something like that or not being ready for it when he is.

"Hey, you're overthinking the whole thing, fusion is much more simple than than, it's like- well it's hard to explain, but when you know, you know. And anyway, I know he wouldn't have any problems fusing with you under the right situation, no matter what kind of love you two have for each other when you eventually do it, so even if he doesn't feel the same kind of love, I can tell he adores you nevertheless. Or hey, maybe he feels the same way you do, you never know.." She explained, hoping that she could make the experience be less stress inducing than she apparently already made it. "Honestly, Garnet would be the best one to go to for this, but just try not to think about it, you'll work yourself up needlessly."

The pale white gem set her hand on the younger gem's shoulder as to try and calm her down. "R-right...don't get worked up..." She took a breath and shook her head as she remembered what the Pearl had said. "Wait, what do you mean 'the same kind of love'? W-we're just friends, he literally just said that earlier." She said in a hushed voice, the short moment of non-blushing interrupted as it started all over again.

"Take it as you will, but just try not to deny your feelings ." Pearl said with a wink as she walked over to Steven, leaving her red in the face from how embarrassed she was, the Pearl's leaving words not helping in the slightest. "So Steven, are you ready to start today's training?"

Steven turned back to her, being completely unaware of the conversation the two gems just had. "Yep, I actually just finished up, so I'm ready whenever you guys are."

"Good, I'll go get Connie started on some exercises before I set you two up." She nodded before turning to go and interact with her other student while Steven made his way over to his pink friend who was still slightly flustered.

"Hey there, you ok?" He chuckled as he noticed her blush that had yet to completely die down. "You're cheeks are all red."

"Oh, don't worry about it, it's nothing." She said, waving it off in hopes that he wouldn't push further as she wasn't personally ready to tackle that conversation just yet. "Anyway, are you ready to begin? Pearl told me we're fighting holo-Pearls today, but this time we're looking into fighting together instead of separately; something about learning to support each other's weaknesses?"

"Correct, you two are strong when by yourselves, but when you have one of you compensating for the other, you'll be even stronger." Pearl said, walking up on them seemingly out of nowhere. "Anyway, I have no combat experience with a shield or a scythe personally, but I do know that while the scythe is great for offensive attacks when in the right hands, it's not so good when it comes to switching to defense quickly."

"Oh, I think I get it," Steven spoke up, realizing where she was going with this. "that's where my shield comes in right?"

"Correct again, and as for you, Steven, you're alright at fighting and all, you just...well the way you fight, you almost always try and see if you can reason with them or just subdued them, almost always leaving you on the defensive end of the fight. Now, while there is nothing wrong with trying to find a peaceful solution to things, sometimes you have to actually fight back, so when you're having doubts about fighting your enemy, Spinel is a great partner for that, as I'm sure she wouldn't stand for someone attacking you like that."

"Well I wouldn't say I don't fight back at all, I mean I always beat your holograms, but I guess I can't say I don't see your point, that's exactly why I lost to Jasper in the first place after all." He admitted with a shrug.

"But I feel like that leaves me depending on him more than the other way around or at least equally." Spinel spoke up, sort of disappointed that there wouldn't be more she could do to help him like he was with her.

"I made it as equal on both ends as I could, this way when you fight together, he's the shield and you're the blade. Anyway, with how fast you're learning and how well he can fight when he isn't being indecisive, you two may not have to rely on each other all that often after all, it's just something I'd like you to learn to do until... well never mind that, we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Pearl said, looking over to Spinel specifically.

The aforementioned gem trying not to give her a reaction as she knew this to be her just getting teased like Amethyst would do to Steven, while the hybrid just looked between the two confused about the apparent inside joke they had going on.

"Anyway, how about we get to it then?" Pearl hummed as she created a group of holo-Pearls, all on around medium difficulty. "I want the two of you to get used to the other's style of fighting for now, once I'm sure you understand each other, I'd like to see your guys' interpretation of what would be the best way to fight along side the other, and after that, I'll adjust things accordingly."

The duo looked at each other with a nod before readying themselves, Steven pulling out his shield and creating a bubble around his hand before spiking it. Spinel grabbed ahold of her scythe and spun it around as she got into a fighting position.

"And begin." Pearl said as her holo-Pearls rushed right for them. Steven was quick to realize that he couldn't get too close to Spinel without impeding on her fluent and graceful motions, so he just made sure to keep in her direct vicinity as to be ready for anything.

Spinel on the other hand was having a hard time trying to find a way to help Steven out as well, as he was faring well alone, just like she was. They soon realized that Pearl had gone off to help Connie so they couldn't really ask her opinion on the matter, and even then, she already admitted to never using either of their weapons, so would she even be able to help?

The hybrid and his best friend actually didn't take long when it came to defeating the holograms, neither needing to help the other all that much cause neither of them really need it. "Geez, that didn't go over as well as I woulda hoped, I mean we were both killing it out there but we didn't really learn anything." Spinel chuckled as he rubbed the back of her head. "Looks like we might have a while to go before we figure this out I guess."

"Yeah, but I mean it's not like you really needed my help anyway at least, I mean you were just taking them out one after another." Steven said, returning a chuckle. "Plus I still can't get over how beautiful you look when you fight, it's almost a distraction." He joked.

Spinel turned red again, finding it odd that she was blushing so much today despite never doing so before even once in her life, though it was probably cause she was coming to be familiar with the implications of everything. "W-Well it was Pink's favorite thing that I did, so I guess I must be good at it..." She said bashfully as she fiddled with her hair.

Steven noticed her behavior and immediately realized what he said. "I-I mean like the way you fight, not you specifically- not that you aren't beautiful or anything, I mean you are and all, but- I just meant- uggghhh." He hid his face in his hands, now becoming embarrassed as well, only receiving a chuckle from Spinel, who was glad to know she wasn't the only one.

"Alright you two, settle down with the 'flirting'." Pearl said as she approached them, wording the word 'flirting' awkwardly in hopes that she even used it right. Yes, that's right, Pearl thought they looked good together as a couple so she would start teasing them and pushing for it to become a reality; mostly a suggestion from Amethyst when she mentioned how cut the two of them looked together to the purple gem.

"What? No, that's not what's going on here," Steven defended, his blush only getting worse much to Pearl's delight. "Anyway, shouldn't we be moving along to something else?"

"Amethyst was right, this is fun, he's too adorable when he gets all bashful." she thought to herself with a smile. "We I don't think you two are ready for the next stage of your training just yet, so I'll just up the difficulty in hopes that it gets you two working together, though I could honestly see the issue you two are having with being too close with that weapon, but hey, you learn primarily from experience. I'm sure you two will be able creat your own way of fighting, and if not, at least it's training you to pay attention to the safety of not only yourself, but someone else as well." Pearl explained, the two of them relieved that this whole thing wasn't for nothing at least.

"Alright, I guess that would be useful to get used to." Steven shrugged. "But what is the next stage of our training? We're both fighting good individually, and we're getting better at having each other's backs, what else could we have to do left?"

"I'll tell you when the time comes, the last thing I want to do is put pressure on the situation." Pearl answered before stepping back. "Anyway, let's begin." Once she gave the command,the holo-Pearls went into action, the two of them exchanging smiles while preparing themselves for the barrage.

-=End of Chapter=-

How nice, Pearl went from disliking her, to admiring her devotion, to all but shipping them. I don't know why Pearl wanting to get the two of them together sounded like a funny idea, but someone has to do it, and while Garnet probably could, Pearl has a larger range of emotions.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of plot. I personally was going to have them fuse here but the two of them fusing because they were told to so they could train...well I would be less than ideal. Also, I have no idea what their fusion would look like to be perfectly honest.

Also, I really was trying for a bit to think of a weakness for Steven that Spinel would be able to support with her Scythe, but he's actually a good fighter and his arsenal is meant for defense while also having the ability to be used offensively, and I've already kinda hyped up the fact that he's been undergoing training all this time as well, cause...well why the hell wouldn't he?

Idk, Steven's weapon(s) is/are perfect for both solo combat and supportive combat, what with the way he utilizes what he has, I just can't see combat being something that needs back up on.

That being said, Steven himself isn't exactly a perfect fighter, in fact, as he is right now, he would rather try and make friends before throwing fists, so he needs someone there who knows when speaking won't work and when he needs to actually fight or at least defend himself, and who better than his best friend who has vowed to protect him at all costs?

Also, SUF was amazing, every episode had me laughing and Steven himself doing the Pink Steven scream attack gave me chills, but seeing the mentally traumatized Pink Pearl...all imma say is that I called it. I mean, everyone always insisted that White did it to her, and I didn't want people to think I'm just making Pink out to be a bigger villain than what she was (even if I was spot on about her just tossing her broken toy aside for a new on) so I just made some passing drama with Steven and White, but hey, Pink is far from innocent here anyway.

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!


	19. Day-Off-(Let’s-Face-It,-It’s-A-Date)

Okay, so I just wrote like three chapters...but they work better if I establish some things that take time to establish, so this is coming out pretty late unfortunately enough.

Now, I'll just go ahead and state this: I'm hoping to get another chapter done ASAP so I can release those chapters, but if I don't, it's because I'm enjoying my vr too much.

Also- I'd like to apologize for my inactivity, I've just been stuck with this chapter and kind of putting it off while I try to think of something, so I'll be releasing the other two or three soon (a day or so) after you read this. (hopefully but unlikely)

That being said, go ahead and enjoy this chapter where idk what I'm trying to write.

(Forgot to mention- we hit 25k reads, thank you very much!)

-=Steven's room=-

It was the day after their team training and Steven was in his bed still asleep despite the fact it was eleven o'clock in the morning. "Psst, Steven-" A voice spoke as the hybrid could feel repetitive poking on his cheek. "Pearl sent me to wake you up."

He let out a groan as he grabbed the attacker's wrist. "Why am I being woken up so early?..." He questioned as he let go of their hand and put a pillow on his head only for it to be removed, prompting him to open his eyes, revealing his pink friend, Spinel.

"Oh come on, yesterday's training wasn't bad, I thought we were having fun." She responded as she set the pillow down on the bed. "Even then, it's already later than when you usually get up."

"What?" He sighed as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?" He questioned as he took his pillow back and set it down where it was supposed to go.

"I think Pearl said it was eleven, all I know is that I've been getting bored just sitting here and waiting for you to wake up." She commented as she hopped off the bed. "Pearl said we have the day off, so let's go out and do something."

Steven was awake now, and there was no helping that, so he decided to get out of bed as well, straightening it up before turning to her. "Wait- you said you were bored just sitting here waiting for me to wake up; what have you been doing when I'm asleep, do you really just sit there all night?"

"Nah, I know how that makes you uncomfortable, so I just lay down and sleep too." She shrugged casually. "Though I'm usually up as soon as your sun begins shining into your room."

"W-Wait, in my bed while I'm sleeping?" He asked as he looked over to the stairs to check and see if anyone was there, knowing that Pearl would never allow such a thing, Amethyst would use it against him in every way she could, and Garnet would be weird about it.

"Um- Yeah, is that bad? You let me sleep with you back on homeworld when we came back from earth, and I slept very well that time..." She began before looking out the window nervously, trying to avoid his gaze while wondering if she messed up. "I've come to enjoy sleeping and it's the only way I don't have those 'nightmares'. I've tried to use the plushie that usually calms me down when I'm left alone, but it doesn't work when I'm asleep..."

Steven wanted to tell her that it was inappropriate for her to sleep in the same bad as him but her excuse pulled on his heart strings too hard. He couldn't just tell her not to sleep anymore if it's something she enjoys doing, and it's not like he could tell her to sleep on the floor or something if she was having nightmares that made her wake up in tears. "I- Listen, just try not to get caught by anyone when sleeping in the same bed as me, they might get the wrong idea."

She looked back to him with an excited smile of appreciation. "Really? I can sleep with you from now on?" She asked, happy that he would let her do that despite how uncomfortable it seemingly made him at first.

"Well, it's better than having a pair of eyes on me the entire time." He shrugged with a light chuckle as he went over to his dresser. "But why don't you just play on the GameStation? I thought you liked doing that."

"Well, it's fun and all but it's just another game and I've already played and beaten everything that was there. But when I go to sleep, I get to do that dreaming thing and it's really only when I'm there that I feel like I can just let everything go and not have to worry about anything, because it's only me and my imagination there...but when I do it alone, I get bad thoughts and they make the dream go bad and I feel less safe there than I ever do out here." She explained, seemingly embarrassed about having to admit just how much she still relied on him despite all the progress she had seemingly been making.

Steven was quick to take notice of her sudden change in demeanor. "Spinel, don't worry about it. Listen, when I was a kid, I had nightmares a lot and I needed someone to be there with me until I fell asleep...now that I think about it, that's probably when Pearl decided to stalk me in my sleep whenever she could... anyway, just know that needing someone to help you is nothing to be embarrassed about, no matter what the situation may be."

"But...I just ask so much of you, and I still can't figure out why you even put up with me." She said with a sigh of her own. "I mean, I don't want you to leave me by myself...but I don't want to be hindering you either..."

"I see, so that's what this is about then? Don't worry about any of that, I've already said that I really don't see you as a hinderance at all." He reassured his friend as he grabbed some clothes and made his way over to her. "You were abandoned by someone who claimed to be your best friend for such a long time; she hurt you and now you're scared of being hurt again, so I plan to keep my promise and be here for you for as long as you need, and if that means that I'll be here with you forever, then so be it."

Spinel wasn't sure why she kept coming back to feeling horrible about this but she knew she could always count on Steven to make her feel better, she just hoped that she could return the favor one day. Sure, this is why she chose to fight for him, but she also wanted to be mental support as well, she just needed to find a way to get him to open up about his own feelings. This morning had already gone so far off track though so she chose not to push for it right this moment. "Thank you...you always know what I need to hear some how."

"Come on, let's go downstairs and figure out what we're doing on our day off." Steven offered as he turned back around and started heading to the door, Spinel being quick to follow closely behind.

Steven thought about yesterday's training as he made is way downstairs. It was a bit more fun for the inseparable duo, the two of them having a better time when fighting the same battle. They found a simple method: Steven was the heavy hitter and protection. He would fight off enemies that would attack her blind spots as well as any of them that proved to be a problem for her, keeping his shield ready to protect both of them as well. Spinel was the crowd control, she would defeat multiple enemies each time she swing of her blade, taking out large quantities of attackers so the hybrid wouldn't be overwhelmed.

They fought side by side, the two of them having each other's backs, their fighting styles almost perfect for one another after all. "Oh, good morning, Steven." Pearl greeted with a wave. "You slept in pretty late so I called up to Spinel so she would wake you up."

"Yeah, she told me." He said with a nod as he continued making his way towards the bathroom so he could get ready for the day. He stopped to turn on the tv and handed Spinel the remote. "Here, find something you want to watch while I get dressed."

"Alright, if you say so." She shrugged and began flipping through channels while trying to find something that caught her eye. Steven on the other hand went ahead and started his morning routine of teeth brushing, face cleaning, and dressing.

"So, are you and Steven going to spend your guy's day off from training together as well?" Pearl asked, seemingly working on making something in the kitchen.

"Yeah, we're gunna find something to do later though we aren't sure what we're doing for now." Spinel responded, landing on a channel that was airing old-timey cartoons that she found interesting due to the way the characters moved.

"Well that's nice, if you two need anything, go ahead and let me know." Pearl responded with a nod. "Anyway- I must be going, let Steven know there is food on the stove when he gets out, there should be enough for the two of you as I know you enjoy eating as well."

"Thank you, I'll let em know when he gets out." She said, mostly paying attention to the television in front of her. Pearl left the room, walking to the warp pad and leaving for little homeworld. It wasn't long after that when Steven walked out of the bathroom, dressed for the day. "Pearl made you food, it's on some stove thing." She said absentmindedly as she watched television.

"Oh, where is she?" He asked, making his way to the kitchen to see a bunch of eggs and bacon on separate plates, deciding to spread them evenly between two other plates.

"She went away on the warp pad, telling me to let you know that there's food. She also said to go to her if you need anything." She responded, still watching the cartoon like a hawk.

"Hm, so you found something you like huh?" Steven questioned as he sat next to her, setting her food in front of her.

"Yeah- But have you figured out what we're doin' today? I'm still not exactly accustomed to earth stuff so I should just leave the planning to you." She responded, grabbing her plate with a thankful nod.

"We could spend some time at Fun Land, there's not really much else to do around here now that I think about it, but I don't think I ever took you on any of the rides there- then maybe we can hang out in little homeworld for a bit? Garnet has been there for a while trying to teach them the true meaning of fusion and how to do it for the right reasons, Amethyst helps out with everything that she possibly can, and Pearl directs things" Steven planned, hoping that they would run into something else that could entertain the two of them.

"Okay, sounds fun." She nodded before scarfing her food down like she always did. They sat there for a while watching tv while Steven finished his food, eventually getting up to leave when he was done. The duo made their way into town, Steven being greeted by most the people he walked by as it was rare they ever got to see the teen anymore.

"Gee, you sure are popular around here- why don't you go to town more often?" She questioned as the walked into the Fun Land area of the boardwalk.

"I really do wish I could come around more often, but I have responsibilities on homeworld and while I'm here, I'd rather spend what little time I do have with my family; nothing against everybody else in town, it's just that the gems need me more than they do." He explained as they walked around. "But never mind that, let's see what we should do first."

They walked around a bit, going to booths that were so rigged that not even Spinel could win legitimately, getting sweets, and just enjoying each other's company. The two of them finally came to the rides, Spinel taking note of the screaming from the humans riding them. "Why are those humans being punished?"

"Hm? Oh, those are screams of fun and joy- they're happy, don't worry." Steven responded with a chuckle as he lead her to the line in front of the ride. "In fact, that's actually what we're doing next."

Spinel gave a slightly nervous look but followed him nevertheless. "Right- let's do this." She said with a forced smile. "I'm training to fight rebel gems, this shouldn't scare me- he said those were screams of joy, but what if they're not? No, he wouldn't lie about something so stupid; we're doing this." Spinel had a mental back and forth with herself until she came to the conclusion.

The ride was finally over for the current people, allowing the next group to get on, setting Steven and Spinel at the front. The pink gem waited as a panicked feeling settled in her stomach before they shot off down the tracks.

-=After=-

The two of them came off the ride, Spinel still laughing and smiling. "Hahaha, that really was fun- if there is anything humans are good at that homeworld isn't, its having fun." She commented as Steven rushed to a trash can.

The hybrid grabbed the edge and spewed out all of the sweets and other food they had today. "Woah, you ok there Stevie?" Spinel questioned, making her way over to him.

After a bit, Steven was sure he had nothing left to puke out so he pulled away from the trash can, still hunched over slightly. "Ugh- I'm never having that much sugar again." He spoke mostly to himself as he approached a stand that sold water, mouthwash, tooth brushes, and toothpaste, which was actually a suggestion Steven made to mister Smiley himself after loosing his lunch here before and not being able to eat again because of the bad taste left in his mouth, mister Smiley agreed cause it was a good idea for more money.

Spinel waited patiently as the teen washed his mouth out before returning to her. "And that's what happens to people who eat too much before getting on one of those thing." He answered the unasked question.

"Wait- that was all of what you've eaten today?" Spinel asked, giving a disgusted glance into the trashcan. "Definitely don't look like it..."

"I'm not going to ruin food for you by telling you his digestion works, so let's just move onto the next thing- preferably something a little more calm." He dismissed as he walked past her, looking up to the Ferris wheel. "That looks nice and relaxing right about now." He spoke as he began walking over to it with Spinel in tow.

"So, what does this ride do? I don't hear the joyous screams here; is it any good?" She questioned as they got into the short line.

"It's more relaxing that the last one- it's usually something you do at night or in the evening when the sun is setting, but I'd like to ride something else that won't make me puke my guts out before we leave." He explained as their turn came up, him motioning for her to go ahead and get in.

She got in to the pod and sat down, surprised on how comfortable the seating was compared to the last ride. Steven joined her soon after, sitting down next to her and giving a sigh as he got comfortable. "So basically this ride will take us into the air a couple times while going in the circular motion you saw out there."

"Can't you jump really high and float? This feels kind of useless when you could just do that, doesn't it?" Spinel questioned, looking out her window, the entirety of Beach City in her sight.

"Yeah but this is much more relaxing than that, it's hard to explain I guess when I can float." He said with a slight chuckle, looking over the ocean, taking in the beauty of only one part of what he's fought so hard to keep safe.

Spinel on the other hand just kept glancing over to him. These feelings she has, have gotten stronger over the past week, and she now found herself only wanting to be closer to him, to be in his arms like when he introduced her to the new homeworld, she wanted to tell him all of this...but she knew it would hurt if he didn't feel the same.

She looked over to him, noticing his hand on the seat as warmth spread over her form. "He's right there...I could easily get closer." She thought to herself as she reached for said hand slowly. "I could tell him how I feel..." She continued to get closer to the oblivious teen, stopping right above his hand. "But I cant. I don't want to ruin the friendship we already have..." She decided, pulling her hand away as the warmth faded with it.

The ride stopped not too long after that, Steven slightly reluctant to get out and continue moving, but never the less hopping out, followed by Spinel. The two of them looked around for a bit after that they just decided to leave for little homeworld.

The two of them walked side by side over to the newest addition to Beach City, neither having too much to say but still enjoying each other's company in silence nevertheless. They entered the little town that was still being built, all of the uncorrupted gems working nonstop along with Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis along with help from the core three crystal gems wherever they could help.

Garnet would talk to gems that were interested in fusion and help them understand things better, Amethyst would usually come to hang out with the new gems as well as her other three friends and lend a hand wherever she could, and Pearl was usually helping to keep everything organized and moving along well.

Speaking of Garnet, she was just finishing up with two gems who seemed to be looking to her for advice. The fusion glanced over to them while waving goodbye to the other two. "Steven, Spinel. How are you two doing? I hear you're both training now."

"Yeah- I'm sure you remember his little incident a week or so ago...and well, because of that, I've chosen to fight by his side." Spinel responded with a smile as they stopped in front of Garnet.

"She's actually been learning really fast, and I've just been training a little to readjust myself; I was getting a little rusty after all." Steven continued, giving a smile of his own. "So, how are things going around here? I see you have a new role with the gems here now."

"Things have been moving along greatly- construction is half way done at this point and all the uncorrupted gems are adjusting to their new lives pretty easily." She responded, giving a thumbs up to a cross fusion that was walking down the street.

"That's great, I'm so glad everyone is integrating so easily." He grinned, happy that everyone was taking the change well...unlike on homeworld. He brushed the thought off though and went back to talking with Garnet.

"So, I hear you're leaving next week to go back...do you really think that's a good idea?" Garnet asked, her smile fading to a frown, genuinely worried that he would only go back to face more pain.

Steven dropped his smile as well, not particularly happy about the conversation turning to her inevitably trying to keep him here. "It's not a matter of if it's a good idea, I have to go back and figure things out with the Diamonds; I can't just leave them when some gems rebel against me, and even then, I have to make sure they change their ways before I come back, cause as it is now, I'm the only one with proper authority to keep things running they way they are for the time being."

"You've left them alone for this long without feeling the need to go back and check on things, why not just deal with the rebellion from here on earth where you're safe?" The fusion suggested, trying her hardest to come up with solutions to the problem that didn't involve him going back.

"I told them to continue running things as is; to only do anything if it's necessary and if there's anything that forces a change that they need to contact me before they do it. Homeworld needs constant work- I am just taking a small vacation for my physical and mental health, me doing this for a few weeks is already a scary thought, much less for the rest of the time that homeworld needs my help." He explained with a sigh. "Let's not talk about this- it's our first day off from training in a while, so we would like to enjoy it without a lecture please."

"Right...sorry, go ahead and enjoy your break- if you need anything, you know where to find me." Garnet nodded, her voice as stoic as ever. "And Steven, don't push too hard."

"I'll try not to." The hybrid responded with a grin as he turned around, leaving with Spinel to go find Amethyst and check up on how she was doing. It didn't take him long to spot the familiar form of Purple Puma carrying an impressive amount of heavy stuff.

"Hey Amethyst." He greeted with a wave. "I see you're occupying yourself with chores around here; I'm sure that must be fun." He spoke, giving a slight chuckle.

"It's nice to be able to help and all, but like- none of these gems are as fun as the Famethyst or you if I'm being honest." She responded, setting the items down where they go and returning to her normal self. "But enough about me and whatnot; what's going on here? Do I smell some kind of date?"

"Why would you assume that just because we came to little homeworld together?" Steven questioned with a raised brow, trying not to let her get to him with her teasing.

"Dude, I came from town not to long ago; I saw the two of you enjoying yourselves but decided against interjecting cause it looked like you were trying to legit have a fun day, but since you're here, you can stand a bit of teasing." She responded, a grin coming to her face.

A blush forced its way onto Steven's face. "I mean- well it's not a date, we're just having a break from training and she's been doing so well that I thought I'd give her a good time with rides at Fun Land and stuff- we just ended up here afterwards."

"Wait- what's a date?" Spinel asked him, seemingly confused as she looked between the young Diamond and purple Quartz. "Like a calendar?"

"Nah- it's when two people who are in love go out and do a bunch of fun stuff together as a couple." Amethyst answered, still grinning. "So, what brings your guy's date here?"

"It's not a date, Amethyst, we're just taking a day off and decided to make our way over here to check up on how things are going." Steven corrected, his face never getting any less red than before.

"Yeah, whatever- so what do you think? Everything coming along fine?" Amethyst questioned, looking around the half way finished town. "It's been nearly a year now; things are going a bit slow but I think it's looking nice."

"Yeah, it looks great- what do you think Spinel? When all is said and done with homeworld and if you end up getting over your separation anxiety, do you think this is a place you'd like to stay?" Steven questioned, turning to her.

"L-Live here?..." She asked looking around, shifting her eyes over to the beach where the temple was located, literally all the way on the other side of Beach City. "And you'll be living in that house?"

"Yeah, but it's not like you'd have to if you were still uncomfortable with leaving my side." He reminded her, sensing her anxiety by watching her body language. "But if you do decide to stay here, you could make lots of friends and even have your own place."

"At the moment, I would like it if I could just stay with you." She responded, somewhat embarrassed to admit it in front of Amethyst who was just watching her with a knowing smile.

"Alright you two love birds, how about you find something to do- I gotta get back to work." Amethyst chuckled as she shape shifted back into Purple Puma. "I heard Pearl say that the moss should be about ready to blossom, maybe you'd like to figure out how to get it to the hill?"

"Really? Well, I suppose I could just wrap it all up in my bubble this time around." Steven shrugged before giving his gem sister a wave goodbye. "I'll see you around, bye."

"Right on, not so little man, have fun you two, just not too much fun." Amethyst said, her grin returning to her face giving them finger guns as she backed away, presumably to go help with more heavy lifting.

"Moss? I know what blooming is, but what's that?" Spinel questioned as they started walking again. "I don't think there was any of that in the garden."

"If so, it was nothing like this stuff." He answered with a sigh. "If you're not careful, it'll wrap around your body and try to eat you or something. I don't really know much about it other than it belonged to Rose, Pink, mom, or whatever I'm supposed to call her...but yeah, it belonged to her so I decided that I might as well take care of it as well before it starts hurting humans."

"Well at least it isn't as bad as having to run a multi-planet society, inherit some ancient gem war, or fix broken gems like myself." Spinel chuckled lightheartedly.

"Well the whole war thing and running an alien race is true enough, but I don't really see helping you as a challenge or anything- I mean, you were there for me when I felt I had no one else I could turn to and trust to understand me." He countered, "I mean, I've had to deal with gems trying to destroy the planet and kill me; you'd nEvEr do something like that after all."

"Right- I mean that's as plausible as me hearing about you by myself before stealing a planet destroying weapon that shares a design with my gem in a time of peace that I alone can control with a horn or something, learning everything about you, stealing some kind of homeworld weapon that would reset your powers, and getting here from homeworld all within the time span of a couple hours at the very most." She responded with a laugh. "That would be just crazy to even think about."

"Haha, yeah, just insane." He agreed with a laugh, noticing that they had gotten quite a while away from little homeworld. "Dang, we've passed more time than I thought."

"How far away is this moss?" She questioned, looking around and realizing that they were now in the middle of nowhere. "There doesn't seem to be anyone around here."

"It's not too far now- the moss is dangerous so it's for the best that it's far away from people." He responded, the small body of water known as Dead Man's Mouth coming into view.

They approached it, but suddenly they found themselves evading an attack. "Woah- what the heck was that?!" Spinel panicked as she looked up to see a battalion of Quartz soldiers now in between them and the water, two cloaked figures standing behind them all.

Steven let out an annoyed groan. "Figures- on my day off of all days. Alright, what do you all want from me?" He asked, summoning a shield on one arm and a bubble around his other hand. "You gems are really getting exhausting."

"Steven Universe, you are responsible for changing homeworld to this weak imitation of what it once was. I wanted a change to come from the newer generation of gems, but this is just too much." The taller cloaked figure spoke, her voice sounding spiteful. "Do you know that just the other day I was talked down to by a Pearl? A Pearl of all gems, talking down to who used to be an elite gem. The way you're shaping homeworld will only result in disaster- so as to bring back the old homeworld and hopefully mold it in a better way than before, we are going to bring Pink Diamond back."

"Didn't Jasper already tell you that she's gone? The only thing left in this gem is me." He informed her, keeping ready for an attack as he noticed that his gem hadn't bothered him in a while. "What will you do now? Do you really think that if you shatter my gem that thing's will go back to normal for you? You'll never be accepted back on homeworld."

The Quartz soldiers seemed a little put off by that, seemingly realizing that he was right. "Demantoid, what should we do? He's right after all..." One of them spoke up.

"You imbecile! Don't use my name you brainless muscle bound idiot! Why not give them a picture of my face while you're at it?!" The taller one of the cloaked figures shouted. "Ahem- anyway, we are sticking to the plan, if it doesn't work then we have to shatter him, it's not like anyone will know."

"R-Right, sorry." The Quartz responded, turning back to Steven and summoning her weapon: a large battle axe. "Alright then, let's just take care of these two. And remember, we are to capture the Spinel alive."

The aforementioned gem gave them a glare as she summoned her scythe. "I thought you said she didn't have a weapon." The taller cloaked figure identified as Demantoid spoke quietly to the short one, keeping her calm demeanor.

"If you would've listened to the reports I made before we just ran head first into battle, we wouldn't be in this situation- she has been training while you told me not to attack for whatever reason you would do such a stupid thing." She responded, just as quietly as the other.

"We had a hostage situation with the other head of the rebellion if you must know, and now that we got her back we can do this, so I'm sorry for wanting to get this whole ordeal over with as soon as possible." Demantoid said sarcastically, obviously annoyed by the attitude of the other gem.

Back with our two protagonists, Steven was blocking a mace from hitting Spinel in the back, creating spikes on his bubbled hand and punching the attacking gem in the gut, instantly poofing her while Spinel took out a few gems that were making their way towards Steven before coming across a gem who blocked her attack.

They stood on even grounds of blocking and dodging before Spinel had enough. "Steven, trade off- this one's all yours!" She announced to the teen who was quick to swap positions with her, letting her take care of the gems he was fighting while he took on this one.

He slid out of the way when she swung her axe down to where he just was, stepping on the back of it and jumping above her while her weapon was stuck in the ground, doing a front flip as he summoned a spiked bubble on his foot before slamming said foot into her head, poofing her as well.

The two of them continued to be an annoyance to the attackers, seemingly impossible to stop and eventually defeating all of them except the two spectators. "Alright, that's enough." The smaller one stepped forward.

"You are not to intervene, I'll handle this-" Demantoid began but was cut off when a cold, sharp object went flying into her gem. "Y-you...you'll be shattered for this!" She threatened before her gem was covered in ice, shattering it immediately.

"I'm sick of your attitude." The smaller gem spoke, raising her hands to her hood, pulling it down to reveal the gem with white hair Steven had come to know. "Dendrite?! Please tell me that was you saving us?..." He asked, hoping he wouldn't have to fight his homeworld friend, even if they really weren't all that close.

"No, you thick skulled idiot- I'm part of all this." She said with an icy glare. "She was just annoying, so I took care of it."

"Wait- are you the one who was getting information out of Ronaldo??? I thought it was Aquamarine!" Steven shouted, seemingly becoming irritated that this gem he trusted betrayed him just like that.

"Oh- there was an Aquamarine that hated you personally, but she fused with a Ruby who also hated you personally and now no one takes the little freak seriously." She continued to let him talk, deciding that she could afford such entertainment for the time being.

"And what about Citrine? Is she with the rebellion too?" He questioned, almost not wanting her to answer him. "We're both of you just using me for information?"

"No, Citrine liked you- unfortunately enough, she saw what I really look like and I had to do the only thing I could." She said calmly, dropping yellow shards in front of the boy. "It's a shame too, she was such an interesting gem."

Steven had to work really hard right now not to loose control. "Anger levels rising:60%" His gem spoke to him in his head as he thought back on how Citrine was the most welcoming gem on homeworld that didn't see him as a Diamond since the beginning. "Why?...Why are you doing this?"

She let out a sigh. "Well since I plan to kill you both anyway- I might as well let you know why." Her form glowed as her body began to change. "This is why I had to kill her- because she saw what the Diamonds did to me."

There she stood, two sharp horns coming from her forehead made of ice, many spots on her body made of different shades of blue in the shape of snowflakes, and her eyes were blacked out except for a ring of piercing dark blue eye color.

"You were...corrupted?..." Steven questioned, feeling a twinge if sympathy before reminding himself of what she did. Spinel looked between them before speaking up. "Corrupted? But how did she keep herself looking like a normal gem?"

"I shape shifted constantly, enduring the strain on my body as I kept reminding myself it was all worth it for my vengeance. I had to take many breaks, but I was still able to keep up with everything...until that nosey little gem came into my living quarters." She explained, glancing down to the yellow shards.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're inevitably going to ask more specifically why I'm doing this, I'll explain before killing you- not like I have anyone else to vent to." She said dismissively. "Back in the prime of homeworld: era one, I was a respected assassin that even the Diamonds often acknowledged. Well I guess it wasn't enough because they screwed me over in the end."

"I was on the most important mission of my life: kill Rose Quartz. But of course, my deadline was literally by the end of the day, and apparently that means sunset for this planet. I went to contact the Diamonds for a little more time because I was so close that I could literally see her...but they didn't answer and attacked without warning me. No one contacted me, no one told me anything...I was left to deal with the wrath of the Diamonds sure that after my loyalty I was going to die."

"Now, I could forgive such an act in due time, but now I find out that the whole war was a farce, just some issues between Pink and the other Diamonds? No- I won't forgive my disfiguration, I won't forgive all that time that was stolen from me, and I won't forgive the Diamonds."

"So why me specially?! I wasn't even apart of that!" Steven argued, Spinel putting a hand on his shoulder in hopes to calm him down but he didn't even notice as his face began glowing pink.

"I have nothing more against you than I do the other Diamonds...but this is the easiest rout to destroying the authority as a whole- it would be easy to manipulate this army if they fear that the Diamonds would want them shattered. Then again, I'll be shattering the gem of the core reason for my pain." She explained, the area getting colder. "Anyway, enough talking, it's time to get past this phase of my plan."

Steven couldn't take it anymore! Citrine being shattered, him being pulled back to being the one everyone wants dead because of his mother, the stress of the past few years came flooding back and broke the fragile wall that was his patience.

The area under his feet exploded as he launched at her, his entire body going pink and Spinel flying through the air. Dendrite was taken by surprise, never reading any of this in the book that human gave her, but never the less she created a thick wall of ice, blocking his attack from hitting her but he nevertheless showed his terrifying power as it shattered to pieces after he hit it.

Spinel slowly got up, recovering from the surprise attack that Steven let loose. "Ugh, what was that?.." She asked no one in particular as she rubbed her head, looking up to see Steven launching attack after attack at their old friend who seemingly began to get used to the new speeds he fought at, though she was definitely stuck on the defensive.

She shot her arm up, summoning a ice pillar from the ground to throw him into the air, the teen using his shield as a surface to launch himself back down towards her. She gave a glare as she waited, opening her palm. Steven hit the ground with the force of a large bomb, only to look down and see that she had thrusted an ice dagger into the joint of his right arm, making it too painful to move.

The ice gem was hurt from the previous attack, but she took it as a win, giving a slight grin of victory before creating an ice gauntlet around her small fist and slamming it into his face, sending him flying all the way back to Spinel. "Damage taken too severe, shutting down for repairs."

"No...Spinel,...get out of here and- and get the gems." He said weakly, his voice hushed as he felt his consciousness fading before blacked out. Spinel grabbed onto him, "Steven- no, you need to wake up, I can't do this alone! I know I'm supposed to be protecting you, but...I'm weak alone, you know that! Please, don't go, I can't loose you..." She cried out to him, tears flooding her eyes. "Please...I love you." She continued quietly.

Weak laughter could be heard from the uncorrupted gem as she got up on wobbly legs. "You love him? A Diamond? That's a pathetic claim- do you really think a Diamond would put himself as low as to have feeling for a lower gem such as yourself?" She teased.

Spinel blushed, embarrassed that she said such a thing out loud, but she held him close to her nevertheless. "I know he might never share my feelings...but I still love him, and I won't let either of us die here!" She proclaimed, hugging him tightly.

The smaller gem continued laughing until the light caught her eye, that laughter slowly dying down as she realized what this meant for her. Spine looked down in confusion as both of their forms began to glow, the most powerful lights coming form their gems. "Are we-?!..."

There was literally an explosion with a flash of light that shook the ground so hard it could be felt miles around. The already beaten and battered gem backed away slowly, slightly terrified of the power the two of them emitted just from the act of fusing.

She could see four pairs of glowing eyes coming from the dust that was kicked up as the outline of a figure could be seen stepping from the crater they created. "Stay back you disgusting abomination!" The small gem demanded.

She could see it summon Spinel's scythe and Steven's shield, a smile coming to its face as it threw the shield into the air and swung the scythe around elegantly, catching the teen's weapon on it's bladed side. The weapons glowed as they merged together, the shield separating, creating gaps between each part that was left.

There was a giggle from the settling dust as the shield part began to spin, clearing all of it out of the area, leaving the new fusion standing clearly before her. They stood at eight feet tall with a slightly lighter pink than Spinel's skin tone, their curly magenta hair having bright pink stripes and held up in pigtails. Their upper eyes being Spinel's wild dark pink ones and the bottom ones a brighter pink with diamond pupils, the latter having a slight glare but the former seemingly happy. Their weapons seemed to form some sort of bladed pinwheel, the wind from spinning it seemingly being what blew away all the dust.

They wore Steven's jacket and jeans over Spinel's attire, the aforementioned jacket a darker pink and the star from Steven's shirt on their chest, right under Spine's gem, still wearing Spinel's pointy little boots as well. "Hehehe, the name's Morganite- wanna play a game?" She asked with a smile.

-=End of Chapter=-

Isndjdisjsjdjdj I apologize for the hold up with this and the sudden change in a villain.

So ye- Bluebird showed us the fate of Aquamarine: a prankster... I couldn't just completely change her into the bad guy so I substituted her and got rid of some side characters that I had forgotten about. Same thing with Demantoid, I couldn't use Topaz as I wanted to because 1. Aquamarine wouldn't be around to keep her in line against her will and 2. She was seen on little homeworld.

So yeah- I'm sure there are many who aren't fans of bringing such a light to an OC in a story like this, but it's all I have now unfortunately and I've been gone of ten days so I need to get this out.

Now, I would like to give her more than this weapon they have now as I'm not 100% sure how they would use it to fight, so I'm taking toy-like things that their weapons could create so I can weaponize it, giving her multiple weapons- maybe even a serious weapon it two.

Anyway- have a merry Christmas or happy Hanukkah or whatever you celebrate, I'll try to get another chapter out soon so I can release the three chapters I have ready. I would like a vote- all at once or keep a schedule with them so it'll be longer before I'm late again?

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon.


	20. Morganite

I can't believe I forgot to update here as well- I'm so sorry to those of you who don't use Wattpad and didn't get this, but now you get a double upload.

Also, I just realized that I haven't given Steven his new jacket yet and for some reason I decided I should add it in for their fusion before he even has it, so since it's too late to change it as you all have seen it, I guess you'll have to just not take that as his new jacket in the show and as a jacket he has- so let's just say he wears a pink hoodie for now or something.

I really hate to do this, it physically hurts to have to change something without being able to go back and change my mistake before anyone sees but unfortunately a couple hundred people are already aware of what I said.

Anyway, please enjoy!

-=Morganite/Dendrite=-

-=Near The Moss Pond=-

The fusion who identified herself as Morganite stood there with a happy grin as she looked herself over curiously. "So Dendy, what do ya think? You wanna have some fun?" She asked, looking up to the already battle damaged uncorrupted gem.

She seemed to keep her distance, not knowing what to expect from the new foe. "I'll shatter you if you come one step closer, you abomination." She threatened with a glare, ready for any movement.

"Hehehe, understood!" She giggled as she dissipated her weapon and swung her arm back, said limb stretching back a good ten feet before she swung it forward, the blue gem taking the full blow of her fist, not expecting such an action. "Not one step taken." The fusion mentioned with an innocent smile.

Dendrite glared and created two ice daggers before she charged at her, Morganite being able to pull out her magenta shield and blocked the attack before she could even make the attempt to thrust her blade into the her. "Ya know, this game seems kinda unfair for me- I can't take a step from this spot but you get to run around? But whatever, hehehe I like a challenge."

The fusion slammed her shield against Dendrite, sending her flying a few feet away before she summoned her weapons again, this time fusing them into a bladed saw on the end of the shaft of the scythe. "Oops, that's not very family friendly- how about...oh- a pizza cutter?!" She called out with a smile as the saw turned into a comedically large pizza cutter.

"Stop. Messing. Around!" Dendrite shouted turning her two small blades into a sword and launching herself at Morganite again. The fusion just smiled in response as she used the side of the 'weapon' to shield herself.

"Are you not having fun? I'm playing by your rules." She frowned, acting sad that she didn't enjoy the game before pushing her back slightly and stretching her arm so she could swing the spinning blade at her, the battered gem hardly able to duck under her attack. "If you'd like, we could play frisbee." She offered, turning the shield into a frisbee with the blade from the scythe around the edges.

Morganite threw the deadly disc at her, the icy gem responding by ducking under it once again. "No? Maybe boomerangs are more your speed?" She questioned with a smile as she held her hand up, confusing Dendrite until she felt a blade strike her in the back. Thankfully for her though, It didn't go deep enough to force her back into her gem. She dropped to the floor and pulled out the weapon, revealing a bladed pink boomerang.

"This isn't over by a long shot Universe. You and your little toy might have bested me this time with fusion but I'll be back." She said weakly before the area was enveloped in a blizzard in an instant, leaving the small uncorrupted gem impossible to find.

Morganite created her pinwheel again, clearing the entire area out, allowing her to catch a fleeting glimpse of the gem who was rushing for the woods. She grinned as she created a dark pink bubble and covered it in snow. "We can have a snowball fight if that's really what you want!" She called out, her arm glowing pink before throwing it right for the fleeing gem's head at blinding speeds, sadly just missing her and hitting a large tree instead, creating a hole in it and embedded in the tree behind it, revealing that the ball was now covered in spikes and blades.

"Hehehe, hide and seek it is." She said, walking towards the wooded area. "Ten, nine, eight, sevensixfiveforthreetwoone, ready or not, here I come!" She called out, now dashing towards the woods. The playful fusion jumping into the trees, leaping from branch to branch, looking around for her 'playmate'.

It wasn't until they got really deep in the woods when they heard the loud sounds of trees falling, a large homeworld ship floating into the air. "Awh, leaving so soon?" She questioned, her smiled more sinister before launching herself into the air at the ship, their shield falling onto the tip of their scythe once more, this time turning back into the large pink saw from earlier. "But I'm not done playing yet." The fusion said before swinging their weapon as the saw spun, managing to cut into the ship before it warped off, the force of its speed knocking her back.

She gave a snap of her fingers with a slightly disappointed look as she plunged towards the ground. "Aw shucks, she got away." She complained as her descent slowed to a near stop, her feet touching the ground.

She then took a moment to look over herself. "Wait a second...Oh my stars- we fused!" She spoke in somewhat of an anxious voice with a strange mix of joy, Spinel's eyes going back to her calm singular colored dark pink ones. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask and you weren't even conscious! I can't believe I did this!" She panicked, the previous hint of joy gone, seemingly showing Spinel's thoughts and emotions about the situation.

"No, no- it's really fine!" She insisted, Steven seemingly taking hold of their fusion now, the bottom set of eyes turning back to his normal brown ones. "Who knows what would happened if we didn't fuse, you saved me." They chuckled, wincing as a sharp pain settled in their shoulder. "We should probably unfuse though- I shouldn't make you have to feel this any longer than you already have." He offered, putting pressure on their wound, the pain not being as bad as it was for himself alone but still pretty painful.

"No- it's really fine, I don't think it would be a good idea to let you deal with all this alone until we can give you proper help,... it really isn't that bad." Spinel insisted from inside the fusion, the two of them and the fusion feeling an intense warmth coming from her gem and spreading throughout their chest,

"Are you sure? I really don't want you to put yourself through the pain of a stab wound for my sake." He insisted, slightly uncomfortable sharing his own wound with her, but still feeling extremely comfortable as Morganite at the same time- a feeling he's never had from fusion with anyone other than what he once felt with Stevonnie.

"Really, I'm alright-...let's just collect Citrine's remains and get back to the house." She said solemnly as they turned back to where this entire thing started. "Right- let's deal with the moss tomorrow."

Morganite made her way down the hill, the fusion stable once more, allowing the two minds to merge again, this time leaving her upset rather than happy and playful as she starred down at Citrine's shards, bubbling them in a dark pink bubble. "I'm sorry that this ended up being your fate..." She spoke to the deceased gem her bottom eyes glowing pink along with her face. "We will get her for what she's done, I promise."

She made sure to bubble all of the Quartz soldiers who attacked as well as the shards of their commander Demantoid, sending them all to the temple just as the six core Crystal Gems came running up the hill, noticing the unidentified gem.

"You- what's happening? We felt the tremors, has there been an accident?" Garnet questioned, seemingly panicked that this happened so close to where Amethyst told her that Steven and Spinel were heading. That's when she noticed the two gems she had on her.

"Garnet- is that..." Pearl didn't even bother to finish her sentence, seeing how big of a smile Garnet had was enough of an answer for her.

"Oh my gosh you two- that's a big jump considering your whole 'just friends' thing earlier." Amethyst commented with a grin of her own. "Whatever- at least you're confronting the truth finally."

"Yeah, no. There were some gems from the rebellion that came by and Steven and Spinel had to fuse in the end. Actually, they're still fused because Steven needs help." She explained, Stevens need to deny Amethyst's suggestions shining through despite the sharp pain followed by the sinking feeling in her chest after the denial. She tried to ignore it almost like an inherited reaction to this feeling as she moved her hand away from the wound, revealing the blood that was staining her jacket. "It eases the pain for Steven so Spinel is kinda insisting that they stay me."

"I see- Garnet, should we call Dr.Maheswaran again?" Pearl asked, glancing at the wound with a look of worry. "It looks really bad."

"Yes, you get her on the phone if you can." The permafusion spoke, nodding to the slim gem. "Morganite, unfortunately you can't really enjoy this experience too much this time, you should get back to the house, I'll walk with you if you would like."

"Well I assume we're all heading back to the house to take care of Steven anyway, so there'd really be no point in me requesting to walk home alone anyway." She shrugged with a smile. "Let's get going then."

Morganite's personality was one that even the two that sne was made of found weird and inconsistent. At first she was extremely playful and joyous, then she did a complete one eighty and started acting like a normal person with a wider range of feelings.

"Very well then." Garnet agreed with a nod as the group began walking home together. "So, Morganite, what's your weapon? She asked as not to let the silence settle in.

"Nothing really specific, I've actually been able to make a few things with Spinel's scythe and Steven's shield, like a bladed frisbee, a bladed boomerang, a saw on the end of the scythe's shaft, a bladed pinwheel, and even a big pizza cutter." She listed the few creations she had made to fight their attacker. "It looks like I can make whatever sensible combination comes to mind, but unfortunately there are hardly any combinations a scythe and shield can make. And of course I have all Steven's powers and Spinel's natural stretchiness."

"That's great- I'm sure you'll be able to come up with more combinations in the future, but for now, can you tell us what happened back there?" Pearl spoke up, looking back towards the hill that had a large crater in it. "You said you were...attacked?"

"Oh- yeah, just more gems coming for Steven. They were doing well holding off a group of Quartz soldiers but then...well we had to fight someone we thought was our friend. She shattered their leader and our other friend; we weren't really close to her, but it was our first time experiencing loss...Spinel feels sad...Steven is angry, he wanted to hurt Dendrite really bad. It kind of scared Spinel to see him like that, but it scared her more to see him go off without her and get hurt." Morganite said, her mood seemingly turning a bit sad as the bottom set of eyes gave a look of guilt.

"I'm sorry you two had to go through that..." Pearl responded, setting a comforting hand on their left arm. "I know you must be upset, but vengeance shouldn't drive either of you; don't fight to hurt someone because they wronged you or someone you care about...fight to make sure they don't do the same to anyone else."

"Steven understands, but he still can't help wanting to hurt her for what she did." Morganite mentioned, seemingly getting a flash of anger.

"You'll never get anywhere if you're fighting because of hate, but if you're fighting to protect something or someone, you can never loose. Just think of that if you ever get into a fight with someone who has wronged you." Garnet advised, receiving a smile from Morganite.

"What's with all the lectures out of nowhere lately? These two are fused for stars sake!" Amethyst grinned, gently socking her in her good arm. "So how does it feel? I mean aside from the hole in your arm that is."

"Well ignoring that, it feels...right? I don't know, I just enjoy being me I guess." She shrugged lightly, keeping her happy smile. "Though being able to bleed is kinda weird but at the same time normal which is just a confusing mix of feelings on its own."

"Heh, well maybe this will open a certain someone's eyes." Amethyst suggested, giving the fusion a knowing look, hoping that he'd at least be able to know how Spinel really feels if nothing else.

Morganite just gave a confused look, waving her hand in front of her face. "But my eyes are already open?" She said quizzically, seemingly getting a bit of cluelessness from Spinel.

"It's nothing- let's just get back to the house and get Priyanka to patch you up." Amethyst sighed, looking forward as they made their way onto the warp pad.

"She just got put on break, she doesn't have long but she agreed to help us with what little time she has." Pearl announced, putting her phone back into her gem, the group finally making their way into the house on the warp.

They waited at most ten minutes for Dr. Maheswaran to get there, the woman marching into the house with a bag strapped over her shoulder. "I haven't even been gone for that long and I already have to come back for Steven? I'm starting to get the feeling I should step in as a responsible adult." He first words being a complaint on the poor parenting for the young teen.

"This is no one's fault other than the attacker's- there were gems that attacked him again and he ended up badly hurt." Garnet spoke up to her. "Stepping in won't do anything but drag humans into this mess as well."

"Well if that ends up being the case then so be it, now where is he?" She questioned firmly with her arms crossed, receiving a small wave from Morganite, the fusion not exactly likening how stern the human was.

"I guess it's about time we unfused for now." She sighed, Spinel's eyes giving a reluctant look before they unfused, leaving Spinel with her hand gently on his good shoulder as he put pressure on his wounded one, the pain almost immediately getting worse after they separated.

"I-...I honestly don't have the energy today to question your antics, just show me the damage." Priyanka sighed as she set her bag down, walking over to the teen as he painfully removed his pink hoodie and shirt so she could get a better look.

"Whatever did this got in deep, it seems to have hit the joint actually, you shouldn't be this calm over something like this." She spoke with worry, hoping that it would even be possible to fix a shoulder joint that has been perfectly impaled.

"I'll be ok- now that I think about it, I'll just have to spit in it and I'll be fine; just tell me what specifically needs healed up so I know how deep into the cut I need it to go." Steven requested, trying not to show just how much pain he was currently in.

"Oh my jeez, of course! How did we forget about his spit?!" Amethyst complained. "We brought Priyanka out here on her break for nothing."

"Im glad you all called me over actually- just because he has 'healing spit' doesn't mean you shouldn't console a doctor first." She spoke before turning back to Steven. "Now, if your 'healing spit' can really fix it, you have to get it as deep into your wound as you can, your ball joint is damaged, so I hope it can fix that or else you'll need surgery." She informed him, opening her bag up. "But first, I insist you allow me to sanitize it."

Steven clenched the arm rest of the couch as she poured alcohol on his wound, it breaking under the pressure of his grip while Spinel held his other arm, trying to comfort him. Priyanka gave a satisfied nod once she cleaned the whole thing out, packing up her stuff. "Great, now just...do what you gotta do to fix it, I'm not leaving until I know it worked." She demanded, offering him a tiny paper cup as he couldn't just spit into it.

The hybrid sighed as he grabbed the cup from her, filling it with his magic saliva, Spinel looking on in slight disgust as he poured it into his open wound. It didn't take too long for it to heal back up, surprising even Steven that he was capable of healing such damage. "There we go, all better now- again, sorry for making you come down here ."

"No problem at all, Universe. If you ever come across an injury that bad again call me over, even if you can heal it, and try to relax for the rest of the day, I'm sure not even 'magic' could heal something like that so fast without any drawbacks." She ordered, hating that she had to use such a word so nonchalantly.

"Yeah- I think it's time I just sit back and heal." He agreed with a smile, Pearl taking his shirt and jacket so she could go and wash them. Once Priyanka left the house, Pearl was quick to get him to get into the shower to wash the blood off of himself.

Just before he closed the door Spinel grabbed his good arm. "S-Steven...what exactly do you remember from us fusing?..." She asked quietly, a blush coming to her cheeks as she felt anxious but slightly hopeful at the same time.

"Oh- I was kinda out like a light," He chuckled slightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "The last thing I remember is telling you to go get the gems."

"Oh...right," She said, the sinking feeling of emptiness returning to her chest though she kept a smile on nevertheless. "It's nothin', I was just a bit curious is all." She lied with a small laugh of her own.

"Yeah- that whole thing was a bit crazy, being Morganite was fun though, I'd love to do it again some time." He offered with his famous smile that melted her proverbial heart every time it was directed at her.

Spinel gave a small nod before she turned around and sat on the couch, those cartoons from earlier that morning on once more as the hybrid got into the shower.

He thought about the question as the real last words he heard before blacking out resurfaced in his mind. "Please, don't go, I can't loose you...please...I love you." Spinel's words played over and over in his head.

"She...loves me." He thought to himself with a blush. "I couldn't just say that I knew what she said, I still don't even know how I feel myself- do I love her too? I haven't even thought about it!" He seemed to be panicking in his head over the situation. "I already told her I didn't hear anything, what would I even say now? I just need...I need to take a bit to think about this."

"She's been here for me for just about a month now if not more and I can actually talk about things that are on my mind with her and not have to worry about having to deal with backlash for wanting to get those things off my chest...she's been my best friend for the entire time, not too long after my last one started hating me. We've spent every one of those days together and we sleep in the same bed for stars sake." He continued his shower thoughts with an even heavier blush, beginning to realize how he had been sleeping with her by his side for this long. "She's been here like no one else really...but it feels a bit fast. We haven't even known each other for that long, and yet when I think about all the people in my life, I somehow can only see a relationship like that coming from her..."

This whole thing left him confused on how he felt about his pink friend, the hybrid eventually got out of the shower, definitely not telling anyone anything about his thoughts, deciding to just get his clothes on so he could go join Spinel in relaxing and watching some television, questioning his feelings for her the entire time.

-=End Of Chapter=-

So yeah, I thought that having Morganite be overly playful in her battles would be fun, mostly so I would mean that much more when she gets serious or angry- idk you'll see what I mean eventually more than likely.

Anyway, the chapters I have been hoarding can finally be released now! I am kinda excited for that tbh.

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!


	21. Empty

FUCK!

NO- It's still five minutes away from being the fifth day of not updating in my time zone, I am technically posting today! Here- I got so bored reading my own content that I fell asleep many times in editing, I'm sure I looked over it all but if I kept restarting every time I fell asleep I REALLY wouldn't get anywhere.

-=Steven's Living room=

-=Steven/Spinel=-

A week. It's been a week since the Dendrite incident and Steven had only just started using his right arm at full capacity three days ago as Dr.Maheswaran had suggested, though the injury was the last thing on his mind for the past seven days.

First there was Citrine: one of the first real friends he made on homeworld... only to become his first experience with death like that. He knew that much was also affecting Spinel...well that's what he believed. Spinel had still been feeling horrible; a empty husk of who she was becoming since she met Steven and while she felt bad about the Citrine situation this was for a different reason. She knew it was probably silly, that she should just try and give the situation time so she could feel better, but she couldn't rid herself of this pain.

It confused her. She hadn't felt anything like this before. Even when Pink abandoned her it was a clear mix of anger and sadness...but this was different. In the beginning felt light blows of it whenever Steven would mention that they're just friends, that they were nothing more than that...but after she admitted her feelings like that in the emotional state of fear and worry that she was in, only for him to not even hear any of it and go right back to insisting they were just friends.

She couldn't figure it out; he said this all the time and it never got this bad, but for some reason, even though she knew he didn't hear her...he seemingly never even thought twice about any feelings of love...that's what this was...true unrequited love...she felt empty and yet full of pain, she could hardly find the energy required to get up and move around

She read about this feeling once in one of his books, alway thinking that it was over exaggerated for the sake of good writing but now that she was feeling it first hand she realized that it wasn't a lie in the slightest, if anything it felt worse than how they wrote it, but it hurt so much that not even the explanation she was giving felt comparable to how she really felt. Nevertheless, the pink gem wore a smile around her half human friend, he had too much to deal with as it was, she didn't want him worrying about her issue that she would never even dare to tell him of all people about in the first place.

There was one person who was able to help her feel somewhat better, but she was still stuck with this feeling. Nevertheless, she was somewhat happy that she was able to connect with someone else over the feeling of unrequited love.

-=Two Days Ago=-

-=Spinel=-

The usually happy gem looked down on the teenager who was sleeping peacefully in his bed. It had been five days since the pain began, this being the only time that she could show her true emotions without him finding out or being curious about her unusual lack of presence.

Spinel has begun leaving the room in the middle of the night, knowing he would always be there when she came back every time, so tonight she deciding to make her way onto the deteriorating hand of the temple for some time alone.

She looked over to the full moon and sat down against the washing machine that was sitting up there, pulling her legs to her chest before resting her forehead on her knees and letting the tears flow. Crying felt good, it helped her temporarily confront the hurt that was in her without needing to tell anyone these pesky and private feelings.

"Spinel?" A voice spoke, startling the depressed gem, almost making her slip and fall off the statue but a slender white arm caught her by her wrist and pulled her towards themself, bringing her face to face with Pearl. "Woah there, be careful." She said in a stern yet gentle voice.

"Y-Yeah...sorry." She said, turning away and trying to make it look like she wasn't just crying right in front of her teacher. "What are you doing up here?"

"I should ask you the same question seeing as you're never away from Steven, but I feel like I already know the answer." She sighed, sitting down on the edge of the hand and motioning for the younger gem to take a seat next to her. "Go ahead- if you can't talk to Steven about it then talk to me. I may not be as great with emotional support as him but I can be of some help."

Spinel was reluctant to open up to anyone but she had obviously already been caught so she decided that it would be better to let her address it here rather than bring it up later and potentially in front of Steven. She joined the slim gem with a sigh, looking up towards the moon as she wiped some tears away.

"So, what brings you out here away from Steven and crying all alone like that? Did something happen?" Pearl questioned, turning her attention fully to her pupil, still unable to imagined reason this gem would leave Steven's side.

"You have to swear to never bring this up with anyone else..." Spinel gave her demands, shooting a serious look at her, failing to hide the tears that were stinging the corners of her eyes, holding out her pinky in the same gesture that Steven taught her meant the unbreakable promise. "Pinky promise."

The pearl just gave a light chuckle as she wrapped her pinky around Spinel's, signaling to her that she could trust her. "Now go ahead and tell me all about it- nothing from this conversation leaves here unless you want it to."

After a few seconds of silence, the pigtailed gem broke down, resting her head on Pearl's chest and letting herself go, sobbing uncontrollably now that she had someone there to cry on. "H-He doesn't love m-me!" She cried out, just quietly enough to keep anyone else from hearing it. "H-He will n-never feel the s-same about me!" She continued, surprising Pearl with her openness about such a situation much less the amount of emotion she put forward out of nowhere.

"Oh my- I see...,what brought this on so suddenly? I knew you had emotions for him but I had no idea you felt like this." Pearl asked in the most comforting voice she could muster, placing a hand on the crying gem's head.

"You-You knew?..." She asked weakly, not even bothering to look up. "Have I been so obvious that he figured it out and he's just uninterested in ever returning my feelings?..." She spoke mostly to herself as her crying began to calm down.

"I wouldn't worry about that, he seems completely oblivious to how you feel for now." Pearl tried to reassure her, only for the anxious gem to stop leaning on her and wrap her arms around herself.

"That's the problem...or maybe that's for the better? I don't know, I said it...I said out loud that I loved him like an idiot, and he still doesn't know but...now that I've admitted it even to basically no one, it somehow feels worse to hear him all but flat out say that he doesn't like me like that." She explained on the verge of breaking down once again.

"You know, I was kind of in your position at one point..." Pearl spoke, looking over the ocean; the large moon reflecting off the surface. "Back when we were all settling down after the war...I thought me and Rose would finally be together. She acted like she felt the kind of love I felt but she would just run off with a different human almost every month...but never would she even acknowledge my loyalty and passion. Now she's gone and never once did she see me as I saw her."

"How...how do you deal with something like that? My chest feels so empty and yet tight at the same time, it hurts so much that I don't think it'll ever go away...why do I even feel this intensely for him, we've only known each other for like a month or so."

Pearl just gave a sigh. "I won't lie to you...I never completely got over the pain of Rose's unrequited love myself but...Steven isn't like Rose, he will either tell you he likes you or turn you down as gently as possible, but he would never lead you on if he could help it."

"But- if he turns me down, it could make our friendship awkward and he'll grow further away from me and then not only will I love someone who doesn't love me but then I'd loose a friend too and-" Pearl was quick to stop the panicked gem. "Spinel, even if he doesn't feel the same, he wouldn't like you any less because you have feelings for him. Steven is a sweet boy, even after all he has been through, he would never do something like that to someone- especially not someone he cares about as much as he seems to care about you."

Spinel took her words into consideration, thinking back to how kind he always was to her, how he let her follow him around everywhere all day everyday, how he took her out of that horrible garden in the first place...Steven cares about her and he wouldn't hate her for loving him, right? But she already knew he wouldn't feel the same anyway. "We're just friends... he says so himself all the time." She thought to herself.

Spinel felt better about the aftermath of being potentially being rejected but she was still terrified of verifying what she was sure was true anyway. These emotions didn't make sense- she knew he didn't like her that way...but she was so scared of confirming it because she knew it would hurt all that much more.

The two of them spent the rest of the night growing closer together through sharing their emotions and thoughts on things such as earth and Steven's mission to fix homeworld as well as all the consequences of said mission. Pearl told her about the war, about their struggles to make everything go back to some resemblance of normal and all their adventures with Steven ever since he became an official Crystal Gem. Spinel was grateful for the distraction, she really needed it.

-=Current Time=-

-=Steven/Spinel=-

Spinel was in her own situation but so was Steven. You see, her worries we're all based off of his confusion. The hybrid had been stuck in trying to decide what it was that he felt. "What if she didn't mean it that way? Am I really just overthinking this? Does Spinel even understand those kind of emotions? Do I even understand those emotions? I mean I can't even decide if this is love I feel or not! What's wrong with you Universe?! You should be getting ready to go back to homeworld, not be overthinking what's possibly not even what you think it is.

They were both stressed but Pearl had told them to come to the galaxy warp in Steven's tower around this time, apparently having a surprise for Spinel that not even Steven was aware of. They decided that they had no reason not to go, or at least no reason they would tell each other, so in the end the duo agreed to go along with Pearl's 'surprise'

"So, what do you think this is about? She seemed happy when talking to us, so I don't think I did anything wrong at least." The pink gem contemplated as they started to make their way upstairs.

"Nah, you haven't done anything wrong. That just leaves the question of what it could be, but there's no point in trying to figure it out now, we're almost up there after all." He said, opening the sliding glass door before leading her up into the tower.

The two of them walked in, noticing that Pearl was waiting for them on the warp pad just as she informed them. The aforementioned gem turned to the two of them with a wave. "Hello, I assume if you're here that means you two are ready for today's events."

"Yeah, but aren't we doing some more training together like last week?" Spinel asked as she stepped onto the warp pad. "Or are we going somewhere new for today?" The pink gem obviously not having the will or energy to do any training right now.

"Don't worry, what we're doing today has to do with your training, but we're doing something a little different." She responded with a smile. Steven had come to realize just how friendly the two of them had gotten, and he wasn't sure when it started, but he just assumed it had to of been when he was in his comatose state cause since then they haven't even looked at each other dirty. They had become, dare he say, close friends.

"If you say so." The stretchy gem said with a shrug, trying not to show her unwillingness of leaving the house in front of Steven before turning to the aforementioned hybrid. "Hey, you coming, Steven?" She questioned as she motioned for him to join the two of them. Steven gave a nod and put on a smile as he obliged and made his way over next to her, the trio leaving in a flash of light moments later.

-=???=-

-=Pearl/Steven/Spinel=-

The three of them ended up in a strange structure that seemed to be under water. "Um, where are we? This doesn't seem like anything that could have something to do with our training." Spinel spoke hesitantly as she walked ahead of them, making her way over to a window. "Though it looks really nice."

"Well, Spinel has learned as much as I can teach her by herself, and you two were victorious in a real battle recently, so I thought we could do something special to commemorate the incredible progress she's made in just such a short time." Pearl announced as she walked over to a hand scanner in the middle of the room. "Steven- If you would." She looked over to him with a smile, motioning to the panel.

"Right." He said as he walked over to her and set his hand on it, the room seemingly activating as soon as he did so. "Greetings, Pink Diamond." It said to him.

"Um- Call me Steven." He requested uncomfortably. "Greetings, Steven." It corrected, the hybrid being relieved that it wasn't as literal as Yellow Pearl. "Have you come to fix your Pearl?"

"Uh...Pearl?" He questioned as he turned to her. "No, we're here for an update slash add on." Pearl corrected.

"I was asking Steven." It responded firmly. Pearl went to argue with it but Steven held his hand up with a sigh as a gesture not to start an argument with a literal structure. "An update slash add on...please?" He repeated, seemingly not wanting to deal with this right now.

"As you wish, please follow the path so you may update your gem." It ordered as a set of doors behind it opened, revealing a large hall. "Please take a moment as you pass through to view our newest models."

Pearl just gave a groan as she started walking. "Let's go ahead and get to where we need to be." She said as she took the lead, followed by her two students.

"Wait, what was that about upgrades and add ons? What are we really doing here, Pearl?" Spinel asked, becoming slightly anxious over the secrecy of this whole thing before Steven put a hand on her shoulder as if to tell her it would be ok, successfully calming her down but making her feel somewhat worse for having a soft warmth still in her gem whenever he would give her a comforting touch like this.

"Well, I guess since we've reached our destination, I might as well let you know before you put it together yourselves." She began, her smile returning as the door at the end of the hall opened. "Since you've gotten through my 'classes', I thought I would bring you here. Now, you seemingly don't have your own weapon, and since this isn't just a slight modification to a weapon you already own, I've brought you here to be given your very own scythe."

"Wait, really? You can do that?!" She asked, seemingly getting very excited at the idea of having her own weapon and not having to rely on something she could loose, such as her current scyth she was holding in her gem from Pearl. Her mood went from awful to a little better after being told this, somewhat completing her true goal here today: make Spinel feel better. Pearl saw herself in this gem...both the good and the bad, so she felt like she had to help her in some way.

"Well, this place is made for Pearls to come and get fixed and be given updates. That being said, it's not limited to only Pearls, so as a congratulations to you for...well I guess 'graduating' from solo training." She explained, leading them into the room. "All you need to do is stand on that pad, and I will begin the manual override that will allow you to make your own modifications from inside your gem."

Spinel hesitantly walked over to the outlined area. "Um- when you say 'from inside my gem' does that mean I'll have to be put into my gem while we do this?..."

"Unfortunately, yes, that's how this works. Now there's no need to be scared though, you have the two of us here to make sure nothing happens to you." The Pearl responded, trying to reassure the younger gem.

"I dunno...I'm not really comfortable with doing that. You sure there isn't another way?" She questioned nervously as she looked over to her teacher and then to Steven, her body seemingly tensing up against her will.

"Spinel, I promise I'll be right here the entire time, you don't have to worry about a thing." He assured her with a warm smile as he put a hand on her shoulder, the contact seemingly enough to calm her nerves. "It'll be over before you know it and we can go back home. But, if you are really uncomfortable with this, you don't have to go through with it- no one will think any less of you for it."

"No, it's ok...I trust you, Steven." Spinel responded with her own little smile and a nod, holding his arm for a second, relishing the warmth that filled the emptiness the previously felt before letting go. "So- how do we go about getting me inside my gem?" She asked, slightly nervous about this part.

"Well usually it's destabilization, but that hurts a lot more than if I were simply to just pull out your gem." Pearl offered as Spinel hesitantly made her way over to her. "Would you like that or would you just rather take the destabilization?"

"No- go ahead and pull it out, I don't even want to know what destabilization feels like." Spinel agreed, stopping before her. "Just...make it quick please."

"Of course." Pearl nodded, placing her fingers around the heart-shaped gem in her chest and gripping it firmly, giving a hesitant sigh before steeling herself as she placed her hand against the pink gem's chest, giving her a solid place to pull her gem from, instantly poofing her without pain.

Steven, who was still slightly uncomfortable over what just happened, approached her. "So, what do we do with her gem?" He asked, placing his hands in his pockets, the fact that she had to her poofed bothering him to no end.

"We set her right here and begin the process." Pearl responded, walking over to a pedestal and setting the perfectly cut gem down gently on a pillow before making her way over to the panel and opening the bottom up. She was down there for a good minute before coming back up and activating said panel.

To Steven's surprise, they were able to hear Spinel now. "Um- guys? There's like- screens in here, what do I do?" She asked, sounding very confused and slightly worried.

"Good, it worked. Alright, those are there for you to model a weapon and create a new outfit if you'd like, do you think you can do that?" Pearl asked slowly and clearly. "Everything you need is on the screens and in your gem."

"Right- Yeah, I can do this." Spinel responded, looking through all the screens and many options, slightly overwhelmed but able to handle herself nevertheless. They spent the next twenty minutes waiting for Spinel to customize herself though neither of them minded waiting for decisions that were this big, especially the weapon.

Once Spinel finished the AI began to speak. "Add ons applied, would you like to scan this gem for imperfections that would require fixing?" It offered, Steven giving a raised brow and a shrug. "Sure, she doesn't seem to be cracked or anything but it wouldn't hurt to check."

"Steven, no!" Pearl shouted, seemingly panicking. "Steven cancel it!" She urged the confused teen. He turned back, seeming to panic as well for because she was. "U-Um cancel that!" He ordered the computer as it began scanning Spinel's gem.

"Sorry, command not accepted, current action already commenced." It responded, Spinel's gem being covered in a blue light.

"Pearl, what's going to happen to her?!" Steven asked, grabbing her arms and slightly shaking her. "What did I just do?!"

"Steven, this place is meant to fix Pearls, if it finds any imperfections on not just her gem, but her mental state; she will be rejuvenated without hesitation." Pearl explained as she summoned her spear and jammed it between the two halves of the clam shell-like casing, attempting to pry it open.

Steven was quick to join her, trying to pull it apart with his hands. "What does that mean?!" The hybrid continued as he used all his strength to pull, but to no avail. "Once more, your emotions are going to explode in a burst of power, not only slowly killing yourself, but bringing harm to those in the area due to lack of control. Recommendation: do not let it out- beings you care about are in the vicinity and likely to get hurt, or worse." His gem warned him as he felt as if there was a fire in his stomach, right where his gem was.

"She will be completely reset; the Spinel you know and care for will be gone and replaced with who she was when she was first created." Pearl responded, trying to stay calm and collected as she pulled with all her might. "Knowing her past, she definitely holds resentment for Pink Diamond and that will get her in big trouble here."

"What?! No, she can't just be reset!" He said, letting go of the shell incasing Spinel and turning to Pearl with a desperate idea. "Pearl, please! We have to try and fuse!" He decided, grabbing her hand, hoping that fusion would get him out of a messy situation just like last time. "Please, help me get her out of there!"

"Imperfections found. Resentment for: Pink Diamond detected as well inappropriate feeling toward the Steven Universe (her superior). Reset required for the safety of her Diamond and deletion of inappropriate feelings. Please stand by." It announced, the inside of the shell turning pink slowly, Steven hardly paying attention right now.

They could hear the faint screams of Spinel seemingly in pain as she was slowly erased and replaced, Steven doing his best to drown her out as he still internally panicked, tears of frustration in his eyes as he flashed pink for a second, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Right, no time to waste." Pearl nodded, wishing she could show a smile on her face to show her excitement as she pulled steaven close but this wasn't the time. Her hands landed on his shoulders and his on her waistline, the two of them beginning to do a quick and improvised slow dance, the two of them ending on Steven dipping Pearl low before they turned into light as their forms merged together, leaving a single being in their place, "Rainbow Quartz 2.0 here to save the day!" He said as he summoned his umbrella, aiming the tip of it at the shell that held Spinel and firing, making sure not to hit her gem with the blast.

"Rejuvenation complete, please enjoy your new g-" She was cut off after the blast created a hole in the side of the capsule. "...Complete?..." The fusion asked slowly as his eyes starred down at the now reset gem, the umbrella slowly lowering as his facial expression changed to one of shock in an instant.

"Warning: unauthorized entity found within the facility, defense protocols activated." The AI warned, security systems now blaring and shutting doors.

The entire room turned red as tendril-like grabbers shot from the walls. The fusion who had already shown himself to be a cheerful personality had only one dominant emotion left as he held Spinel's gem in his hands: anger. He shot a glare at the incoming tendrils as a voice spoke in his head. "Stress and anger levels hitting maximum capacity. Recommendation: destroy attacking entities as to blow off steam. Your only option to not loose control completely is boosted mode- would you like to activate it?"

"Wh-What is-" he began to question the voice with a confused look falling onto his face before one of anger took hold again. "Yes." He said through gritted teeth as he held onto his umbrella tightly. His entire being turned pink, his eyes glowing an extremely light pink, almost like Lion's when he got serious. The half of the fusion that was being held by Pearl, became overwhelmed by this anger and power, leaving it all to Steven and Rainbow Quartz, who was now only influenced by Steven's emotions.

The tendrils were inches away from grabbing them but he simply pointed the weapon up towards the ceiling and fired, the blast being so incredibly destructive that it literally blew a large hole in the water outside of the base and completely demolished the entire roof. He stood there for a second, his eyes flashing back to his normal ones as the power diminished, leaving Pearl more in control now.

He looked down at his feet with a look of fear and slight worry as he saw the floor under them had been completely shattered before looking up to see the light that was temporarily shining down on them disappear as the water began to fill back in and fall back down towards them. He put Spinel into his jacket and hopped onto his umbrella, allowing it to boost him through the halls, no system left to interfere with his escape.

He finally landed on the warp pad perfectly, glancing back for a second to see the water rushing towards him. Luckily enough he was able to warp away right before it reached him.

-=Earth/Steven's Tower=-

-=Steven/Pearl=-

The light of the warp flashed leaving Steven and Pearl tumbling out of it, now separated from each other. Pearl was the first to her feet, quick to look over at Steven, who was hunched over on all fours trying to catch his breath. "Steven!" She panicked as she ran over to him, holding him tightly against herself. "Steven, what-...What was that?..."

"S-.." The hybrid struggled to recollect himself as he kept trying to calm his breathing enough to form a sentence. "Spinel! Where- where's...Spinel?!" He managed to pant out as he pushed himself from her grip, struggling to his feet.

"Steven, please just lay down, I have her right here." Pearl urged as she pulled the heart shaped gem from her pocket. "Just calm down and breath."

He seemed relieved, reaching out to take the stone but falling over and passing out before he could. Pearl was quick to catch him, thinking back to how Spinel described him as all pink when he got to her. She just brushed it off at the time, but obviously something was happening to him and his powers...what was that voice?

-=End of Chapter=-

Done- and with two minutes to spare until tomorrow:p

Well Rainbow definitely could've had a better appearance, but I wanted to write his existence in for a reason other than just so Steven fuses with Pearl like in the show, and this reason leaves no time for Pearl to be excited and happy about the fact that they fused, despite how happy she might be under all the panic and stress.

Anyway, once again- I really need a new clothing design for Spinel! Last time it was for convenience and such, this time I've set it up for her to have a new style and I need suggestions.

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!


	22. *His*-Spinel--A-Bedtime-Story

Hi there, I'm here with like my lomgest chapter yet but I think that has mostly to do with (spoiler alert? I don't think it matters though, it's not plot heavy) Steven's bedtime story which I decided against completing it, but more on that later.

Anyway, let's get into today's chapter then!

-=Three Hours Later=-

-=Steven/Pearl=-

The teen shot up in his bed as he looked around, noticing Pearl who was seemingly waiting for him. The next thing he noticed was that he was holding onto Spinel's gem, it seemingly being left in his hands while he was unconscious.

Pearl was hesitant at first was quick wrapped her arms around him after shaking off the unwanted feeling of...fear? "Are you feeling better? I was close to calling Dr. Maheswaran again." She said with a sigh, careful on how tightly she held him, unsure if he was hurt or not.

"No- I...I'll be alright." He said, looking down at Spinel's gem. The memories of what happened came flooding back. He did this...she trusted him to make sure nothing bad happened...and he did this to her. Did he really only exist to bring pain and suffering to those unfortunate enough to become associated with him?

"Steven...I know you must be upset about what happened to Spinel," Pearl began as she let him go, thinking to herself, "that much was obvious..." before going back to trying to help him feel better. "and I know what you're thinking, but it's not your fault." She reassured him, knowing that the first thing he would do is feel like this was his doing.

"But it is...I'm the one who convinced her to do this, I'm the one who told it to fix anything 'wrong' with her, I'm the one who let it reset her, and I'm the one who almost killed all three of us because I couldn't control my temper. Why? Why is it when bad things happen, it's always because of me? I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want anyone to get hurt...but somehow, when someone is associated with me or my mother they either get hurt, hurt me, or both!" He ranted, holding her gem closely, closing his eyes tightly.

"Steven, that's not true at all. Me, Garnet and Amethyst have been apart of your life for over fifteen years now and all you've done is help us and keep us safe," Pearl argued, hating that he was associating himself with the pain of others.

"In just the last two years, I caused a war and rebellion on homeworld, I got Spinel reset, I drove Jasper to choose corruption over help, I abandoned all of you here while I went to homeworld, I threw Eyeball into space, I've put Beach City in danger quite a few times, I destroyed Fun Land, I've messed up our missions to nearly the point of failure time and time again, putting you all in danger, I've gotten a bunch of my friends nearly kidnapped, and I put my friends in danger a bunch of other times as well...I'm just all around bad to be around, I wouldn't be surprised if Spinel wanted nothing to do with me...if she were even here anymore." He said, now on the verge of tears at the realization that he might never see his best friend ever again, that he might never find the answer to how he felt and if he did, he wouldn't be able to share it with her.

"Steven, you're not bad at all! You've done so much more good than anything! You went to homeworld and freed all the gems from the hold of the Diamonds, you changed the Diamonds into good guys, you are the sole reason that all the gems in little homeworld are now uncorrupted, you saved the half of the townspeople when Aquamarine and Topaz came, you saved your dad from that zoo, you stoped the cluster without having to shatter it, you saved us from Jasper and Peridot, you brought back the world's ocean, you saved Lapis from her mirror and you've redeemed gem after gem." She argued. "And don't think for a second that Spinel would be upset with you, because you saved her too."

"But what does it matter if she'd be upset with me or not when I probably won't even get to see her again, much less apologize to her?" He questioned as he leaned his forehead against her gem. "I just want her to at least know how sorry I am..."

With that, the crystalline heart began to float in the air, a nearly blinding light shining before a small pink gem flew from inside the light and onto Steven. The hybrid let out of 'oof' as he caught the unexpected gem.

She was back in her old get up, the one he first saw her in at the garden, just cleaner. "U-Um...Spinel?" He questioned, wondering just how bad this was.

"That my name, don't wear it out." She laughed in a higher pitched and overly happy voice. Steven, needless to say, was confused, already finding this new and energetic Spinel to be kind of polar opposite to his Spinel's usual self...wait, his Spinel? He had never used a possessive term like that for anyone.

"Do you...remember me?" He asked hesitantly, fearing he would get the answer that he didn't want, he could feel his heart rate rising in anticipation. "Stress rising: 50%" The voice of his gem spoke, much to Steven's annoyance.

"Hmmm... Nope, but that's okay! As your best friend, I'll will make sure to make many memories with you, so be sure to ask me again at some point!" She responded with a smile, not moving from on top of him as she bounced around, seemingly unable to keep still for a second.

"Stress levels rising: 85%" It reminded him, when in reality it was only making Steven more stressed and annoyed to hear it every few second. "You're not helping." He said lowly with gritted teeth, Spinel eyeing him with a confused look while Pearl watched closely as she was thinking he was talking to Spinel at first.

"Stress levels rising: 97%." It warned, seemingly ignoring his previous comment. "No, stop it. Shut up..." He warned, raising his voice slightly as he clenched his fists, Pearl coming to realize it wasn't Spinel as she had been quiet since the last time he spoke.

"Stress levels rising: 98%- recommendation: blow off some steam." It continued, not aware that it was the cause of this. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Steven continued as he pulled on his hair out of frustration, leaving Pearl concerned.

"Umm...I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Spinel questioned, feeling bad about annoying her best friend right after she first met him as well as a hint of fear and the need to run. Steven felt a twinge of sympathy when he looked to her. "S-Spinel, no, I wasn't talking to you- don't worry." He reassured her. "You're not doing anything wrong."

"Stress levels rising: 99%- Allowing yourself to get to 100% will damage those around you and yoursel-" It began to warn him but he had seemingly had enough. "I SAID SHUT UP!" He demanded; his voice distorting and overlapping itself as a burst of energy sent Pearl flying back and Spinel floating over him along with most things in the area.

The bed was in dire need of repairs now, as was the glass, but at least Spinel seemed to be having fun as she was just floating and giggling, seemingly unaware of his anger and forgetting the thought that he was talking to her as the fun of zero gravity was an easy distraction for her. Steven opened his eyes and for a split second, you could swear he had diamond shaped pupils on his own, but thankfully enough he came down when his eyes opened to see Spinel, she was upside down and floating in the air inches from his face with an innocent smile.

The stuff around him that was floating dropped immediately, Steven, who was now madly blushing and feeling weak, made sure to catch Spinel before she got hurt. He looked around with worry in his eyes until he saw Pearl who was getting back onto her feet.

"P-Pearl, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" He tried apologizing to his mother figure who was now making her way over to Steven with her own look of concern.

"S-Spinel, can you do us a favor and sit outside that door so I can talk to Steven privately?" Pearl requested, motioning the glass door that she didn't realize was destroyed at first.

The pink gem latched onto the boy as she seemed upset by the suggestion. "No! You can't make me!" She shouted with clear panic and even anger in her voice.

Steven gave a sigh before coming to a realization. "It's ok Pearl, I'm sure whatever it is, she won't understand to the point that it needs to be a private conversation." Steven reassured her. "But once you're done here I think I'm on to something."

"W-well that's very nice and all Steven but...I think it's time we address the elephant in the room." Pearl responded carefully.

"Heh, what's an elephant?" Spinel giggled, assumably still all giggly over what happened earlier. "Ooo, is it this thing?" She questioned, picking up one of Steven's figures that was now on the floor from earlier, assuming that the 'elephant' was in this room as she had suggested.

The hybrid decided to get on with Pearl's conversation and get it over with instead of indulging the child-like gem. "I assume you mean that back there?" He asked, seemingly not wanting to touch the subject.

"Steven, back at the upgrade center...what was that voice?" She questioned him, her first worry being the fact that he was hearing voices now.

Steven felt his stomach flip but he found this to be the perfect time to tell her without Spinel hearing and freaking out as well. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you'll stay calm, cause if you don't, I won't tell you anything more than that. And I mean anything."

This was enough to make her worry already. Something happened that he was hiding from her? Something that she would be overwhelmingly upset about? "Right, I promise to try to be level headed."

"Alright then... I didn't forget what happened to me back on homeworld." He confessed, having previously told her that he didn't remember a thing from back then except having to fight Jasper. Pearl was obviously surprised that he would lie to her like that, but assumed there was a reason...a reason she was apparently about to find out.

"So back on homeworld, Jasper and I fought, and unfortunately she won, this much you know. Well, when I woke up, I was in a cell and there was a restraint on my gem; I couldn't use my powers to escape. After me realizing that, Jasper walked in with a couple other gems, she went on about how they were going to bring back the original Pink Diamond and I spit in her eye and kicked her face, which only made her mad, resulting in her punching me in the chest and breaking some ribs...and apparently puncturing a lung." He began to explain solemnly.

Pearl was trying to remain calm on the surface, but on the inside she was fuming. She wanted nothing more than to go to homeworld and fight Jasper at this time, but that helped her see why Steven made her promise to stay calm.

"After that...well, she ripped out my gem." He said, Pearl being unable to keep a shocked gasp in. "Now, after that, Rose didn't come back and neither did Pink...but it was like a pink version of me. He took out everyone by just shouting and came back over to me..." Steven ave a sigh as he knew this next part would be the heavy hitter. "Pearl... I died that day... I was resuscitated by him...but I was dead in a way that no human doctor could fix. My heart had stopped and my brain had shut down as well."

She didn't know what to say or what to do. She couldn't believe that her baby had died at some point...Jasper had killed him. She looked down to him with tears in her eyes as she put her arms around his shoulders, even Spinel seemed to be upset despite not knowing the gravity of the situation. "Steven... I had no idea... I can't believe this." She said, seemingly struggling to hold back sobs.

"It's ok, I'm still here and I'm alive. I'm just glad I was able to tell someone about this, it was honestly becoming a lot to have to deal with by myself, even if I had pushed it to the back of my mind." He said with a faint smile as he hugged her back. "But um, the voice...well that's my gem speaking to me and giving really annoying warnings and recommendations. Anyway, with the stress of Spinel being reset and him constantly reminding me about how I'm too stressed and should do something about it which only made me more stressed, I guess that was the burst of anger or something that comes when I hit '100 percent'?... I don't know, it's all really confusing."

"So, is that what happened when we were Rainbow Quartz?" She asked, wiping tears away as she pulled back, just trying to be there for the teen instead of working herself up over what had happened any more than she already had. "It left you in shambles."

"No, he calls that 'boosted mode' or something; I guess it's when my powers go into overdrive compared to what they are now, but what we did back there surprised even me." He explained. "Anyway, apparently when that happens, I will black out half of the time and I need food and water afterward." He said, slowly coming to realize just how hungry and thirsty he was.

"Well in that case, please just sit here and relax, I'll call Bismuth up so she can fix your bed and door while I make you something to eat." Pearl offered quickly, seemingly still upset but not wanting to loose her composure in front of him. She got up from the mattress that was now basically on the floor and held her hands together tightly. "Th-thank you for confiding in me."

"Thanks for listening." She responded with somewhat of a smile as she began to walk away. "Wait- Can you make two plates of pancakes, two glasses of orange juice, and a glass of milk?" He requested. "I want to try something, so I'll need enough for Spinel as well."

"Ooo, I get to be apart of this too? Is it some kind of game?" The aforementioned gem questioned with a smile, receiving a light chuckle from Steven. "That's right, it's called eating." He responded.

"Alright then, I'll leave you to fix this seeing as you seemingly have it figured out; Bismuth will be by soon." Pearl informed him without turning back, giving a small wave as she walked down the stairs.

"So, I guess you still don't remember anything, huh?" He asked with a sigh as he looked her in the eyes, thinking if he stared hard enough or peered deep enough...he'd see the real her. He knew he had to be able to get through to her based on her reaction when told to leave him for a little bit, and he knew that making her remember that pain would more than likely trigger her return, but he couldn't bring himself to do that to her...no, there had to be another way to get her back.

"Hm? You keep asking if I remember things, did something happen?" She questioned him with a tilt of her head, seemingly not having picked up on his earlier comment about her being reset.

He gave a sigh, he didn't want to worry or pressure her, so he just gave her half the story. "Don't worry, you just seem to be forgetting a few things, I have an idea on how to help you remember so don't stress yourself out too much."

"Hm, if you say so." She said with her usual innocent smile and a shrug. "So, when are we gunna play eating?" She questioned as she hopped up and started looking around for other things to play with in the meantime.

He gave a friendly chuckle, unable to imagine his Spinel coming from this, though his mood turned around when he realized just how bad it had to of been for her to change her from this innocent and overly happy little gem into the mentally scarred and emotionally traumatized gem he knew. "Soon. Pearl is setting it up right now."

"Oh yay!" She said, giving even more laughter as she stretched her arms around the hybrid and lifted him out of his broken bed. "So what do you wanna do while we wait?" The energetic little gem asked enveloping him in a hug.

Steven gave a slight blush as he set his hand on her head and moved her slightly away from him, having to remind himself that this wasn't the gem he knew and cared for, not that he didn't care for this Spinel it it just wasn't...his Spinel. "Umm, we can play a video game while we wait." He offered as he remember just how much she got into gaming before she was reset.

"Ooo, what's that?" She asked curiously, holding a finger to her chin, proving to be too adorable for him to handle. The teen made his way over to his thankfully (and surprisingly) undamaged television that held his GameStation2 in the cabinet underneath it.

"Well, you basically control characters on a screen to solve puzzles and fight bad guys, or your friends if you want." He said as he hooked it up and handed her a controller. "So, what kind of game do you wanna play?"

"Wait- why would you wanna fight your friends? That's not friendship, that's mean, you shouldn't hurt your friends." She said, trying to act serious and cross her arms but that only made her look even cuter.

"Don't worry, you're not actually fighting your friends," Steven reassured her with another laugh. "Think of it as a challenge- like hide and seek or tag, only you're trying to have your character attack your friend's character until they can't fight anymore."

"Ooohhh, so like sparring?" She asked, seemingly relieved that she wouldn't actually have to fight her new best friend. "I think I get it."

"I guess you could say it's like that, just less actually hurting someone and more like controlling people in a video to see who's the best at controlling the characters." He tried to explain in a way a homeworld gem could understand. "It's more a game of mind and skill than actual strength."

"Alright, I understand then." She said, giving a thumbs up and a smile while sticking her tongue out to make a playful and silly face in hopes to entertain her friend. Steven just gave a slight chuckle as he handed her a controller. "In that case, let's try one of those games." She agreed, assuming that he wanted to play it because he chose to explain it.

"Alright then, I'll teach you the controls and we can get into it." He nodded as he put in Lonely Blade III unbeknownst to him that it was rated M for blood and gore. "You should choose Lonely Blade, he's the protagonist of the game and in my opinion the best character."

She responded with a giggle as she looked over the characters. "Nah, that's ok, I don't know about this as much as you do, so you should play as the character you like the most." She said as she landed on a skeletal man dressed in black robes and holding a scythe. "Ooo, this one looks fun, I'll be them." She said, but paused as she felt a twinge in her gem as she looked at the weapon. She decided it was nothing and picked that character.

"Well- If that's who you would like to be, be my guest." He agreed with a smile of his own. "I was right, this isn't completely hopeless! She might actually be able to remember her old self!" He theorized happily in his head as he chose his character.

As soon as they got into the game, Steven paused it for her to show her the controls menu. "So, basically you use that button to jump, the other to kick, that one to block, and that one for hitting and the last one is for using your weapon. You use that stick to move back and forth and you can enter in any of these button combinations down below to do special moves."

"I see... alright then let's play." She said, grabbing her controller and getting ready to play the game. "I've never played anything like this before, so I'm excited to try."

"Wait- So you remember playing games then?" He asked, intrigued on what the rejuvenation didn't erase and what it could be that she was able to hold onto.

"Well, now that I think about it, no...but I feel like I remember playing other games..." She said, giving a puzzled look as she tried to remember where she felt those memories from despite not actually having them, but that only resulted in a feeling of pain deep in her gem. She put on the best smile she could and gave a shrug. "Oh well, let's play."

"R-Right." He nodded, adding that to his list of things that could be of use in bring her back to normal. He unpaused the game, deciding he would go easy on her till she was comfortable with the game and character. That much was a mistake, she started off just throwing his character around like nothing, hitting combos he thought to be nearly impossible to remember.

Even when he used his full skill he couldn't land anything more than a few hits on her before he found himself stuck in another combo attack, amazed at her skill despite the fact that she literally just started playing. "Wow, you're really good at this."

In a couple minutes she had won the round. Being offered the chance to do a finisher, she recalled seeing a certain list of button combinations that was under the word: finishers, so she entered in the first one that came to mind. Her character pulled his scythe out and spun it around at blinding speeds before letting go and allowing it to hit Lonely Blade, slicing the hero in half, showing all the blood and gore such and action would naturally offer.

Steven gave a chuckle and was about to congratulate her on her win before she gave a panicked scream, rushing to the television, holding her hand inches from the screen but not daring to touch it. "Spinel, what's wrong?" Steven questioned her, becoming concerned that something might be wrong with her.

She looked back to him and to his surprise, she was crying. "S-Steven, I made him kill your human!" She sobbed much to his confusion. "I'm s-s-sorryyyy." She apologized as she latched onto him.

After a few seconds it hit him, "she thinks this is real, doesn't she?" He thought letting a small smile come to his lips. "Hey, don't worry, it's perfectly fine." He said as he set a comforting hand on her head, something about it just naturally calming her down slightly.

"B-But I killed him..." She whimpered, burying her head into his chest. "I'm a bad gem! We were just playing and I killed him!"

"Hey now, that's not true. You're not a bad gem at all, he didn't really die." He tried to sooth her, running his hand through her hair as her sobs came down to slight hiccups.

"R-really? He's ok?" She asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes, glancing back to the screen that was now announcing the win of player two. "He doesn't look ok..."

Steven was going to tell her that none of them are real, but for now he decided that telling her they're fictional people would only upset her more. "Well, he comes back later; in their world, you respawn after something like this happens, right now he's just taking a break until he's chosen to fight again- you know, like a gem."

"Really? He's still alive?" She questioned, her mood seeming to lighten up ever so slightly. "But, doesn't that hurt him? That looked really painful."

"Don't worry, he doesn't feel a thing." He reassured her with a smile. "Here, I'll bring him back to prove it." The hybrid said, letting go of her much to her disappointment and grabbing his controller, starting a new game with the same characters. "See? Lonely Blade is standing there perfectly fine."

"I guess, but wouldn't him having to live through death really hurt his mind too? I still feel bad for putting him through that." She said hesitantly, not sure if she could even find the will to lift up her controller again.

He gave a small sigh, wondering if this was her way of trying to talk about his conversation with Pearl earlier, or if he was just looking into it too much. "Don't worry, he's gone through it many times and at this point it's just an every day thing, he isn't bothered by it seeing as he always comes back and he never feels a thing." He continued to make up this imaginary world like a parent telling their kid about Santa for the first time.

"That's horrible, no one should ever have to get used to that." Spinel responded, her kind nature refusing to let her just accept the 'fact' that this 'person' has to go through this.

"Alright, tell you what, I'll change the game mode and make everything ok and make sure no one has to 'die'." Steven promised as he returned to the main menu and went to the options screen to turn off blood and gore. This was a feature added that allowed a more child friendly game but unfortunately made the finishers kind of boring, as how the scythe would've gone through Lonely Blade before, now it just cuts him multiple times until he's unconscious, and even then there's no blood. Steven didn't mind though, overly violent games weren't Steven's style anyway, it didn't appeal to him.

"Wait- there's a way to make it so no one has to die and it's just a choice that you have to go searching for? What kind of monsters would make game rules like that?" Spinel complained, surprising Steven when he realized this was the first time her response to something wasn't just smiles and laughter, in fact it was a mild anger despite the cute pouty look she had.

"Hey, don't worry about it; the characters all knew what they were getting in to and gladly agreed because they thought it was fun as long as they couldn't really die." Steven continued building this false world for Spinel, now that he was in too deep to tell her he was lying. "No one was forced into doing anything, but if it will make you happy, they have just as much fun without the dying part." He offered as he started a new family friendly round...well as family friendly as you could get with a fighting game like this.

Spinel was hesitant to play again, but once she played (and won) she was joyous once more upon seeing that no one was killed this time around. The two of them continued playing, Bismuth even coming up at some point, seemingly confused on how this mess would've happened. Stecen insisted he take a break and help where he could, nit taking no for an answer. Bismuth was insanely fast at fixing everything and Steven thanked her for her help and apologized for making her come up to fix everything before he went back to playing with Spinel.

About ten minutes and six rounds later Spinel started to loose round after round, almost always offering a sentence like 'oh shoot, I lost again- guess you're just too good at this' and other lines that lead him to the conclusion, "she's throwing the game now? Spinel was always very competitive when we played before she was...reset. I almost never won."

"Hey, you know it's ok to win, right? You were doing so well for most of the game, why start letting me win now?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, you noticed huh?" She asked with a slight frown. "Well it's no fun if I'm constantly winning; I just want my best friend to enjoy himself too, ya know?" She responded, that smile returning once again.

"Well there's a few problems with that. One: if I'm always just getting pity wins, I can't feel good about any wins I might actually earn cause I'll just assume you let me win. Secondly: I'm having fun even if I loose, I mean the competition hardly matters when playing with your friend, right?" He explained to the confused gem. "And third off: it's no fun for you when you have to throw the game constantly, so just relax and enjoy yourself."

"But...my whole purpose is to entertain you, it was selfish of me to even take the win as many times as I did in the first place, I just got overexcited at the new game you were teaching me..." She explained, her smile falling as she spoke, fidgeting with her gloves absentmindedly.

The hybrid just gave a sigh as he thought back to all the times when Spinel had to sacrifice her own enjoyment so his mother would be happy. "Anger rising: th-" Steven was quick to interrupt the voice this time. "Will you stop that?! You constantly telling me how I feel is what makes me even more angry and annoyed!"

He came back to reality when Spinel had jumped behind his bed with his comforter, hiding from...from him... "I-I'm sorry, I just assumed you were having fun now..." She said timidly as she peeked from behind her hiding spot.

"Wait- Spinel, I wasn't talking to you." Steven tried to reassure her as he reached out to her but she just pulled her head back into his blanket out of fear. The hybrid looked down at his hand, thinking back to the time when he witnessed one of his mothers fits of anger when denied a colony. "No...I can't be like this...I'm never quick to anger...what's going on?"

Pearl had finally made her way upstairs with two very full plates of food as well as all the requested beverages on a tray. "Sorry I took so long, I had to go out for ingredients and-...Um...what's going on here? Am I interrupting something?..." She questioned the teen as she glanced over to the poorly hidden and frightened Spinel.

"I-it's nothing...could you just set it all on the table? I want to talk to Spinel in private." He requested as he motioned to said table. "We can talk about things later, but for now, I'd just like to try and help my friend."

"Very well, just...be careful, you wouldn't want to be the one to hurt her this time." Pearl warned as she made her way over to the table and set everything down. She then turned to look between the two of them and made her way out the door.

"Spinel, I promise I wasn't shouting at you." Steven said gently as he sat on his bed, being careful to not get too close. "Do you remember what I told Pearl about earlier? How I had this little voice in my head that would talk to me every now and again?"

She peeked out from inside the blankets, giving him a small nod. "Well, you see, that voice tries to tell me how I should and shouldn't feel about things, and it becomes very annoying. Ao while it may seem I'm shouting at you, I promise I'm not mad. Plus, we can start eating now, the food is ready." He said as he offered her a hand.

She looked over to the stuff that Pearl set up on the table. "Food? What's that?" She questioned as she glanced back to the hand he offered her.

"We need it for eating, don't worry, I promise you'll like it." He said, waiting patiently for her to accept or refuse his offer to join him. Thankfully enough, she chose to accept it, stretching her arm out and grabbing his hand hesitantly as she dropped the blanket.

"I'm sorry, I was being pretty difficult for you just then...I'm not even sure why I felt so scared, you don't really seem like the type to hurt others...I guess it was just some kind of instinctual reaction I had." She responded as she made her way over to his side, Steven feeling his anger stir once again just at the thought of what that might have meant about his mother and Spinel's relationship, but to his surprise and relief there was no voice to tell him anything.

He lead her over to where Pearl left the food and drinks, thinking about how often he was getting upset lately as well as all the stuff his mother did coming into light all at once. "Alright, so what you do here is you take the fork and knife and you slice into the circle; it's called a pancake."

She did as instructed while mirroring his movements. "Oh wow, look, I did it." She grinned as she held up the fork that now held a slice of the stack of pancakes. "I'm gunna be the master of eating." She declared confidently.

"Heheheh, very good Spinel, now you gotta put it in your mouth, chew, and swallow." He told her before giving her visual instructions once again just like the first time they did this. She of course followed his instructions to the tee and gave a look of joy before she began eating faster.

"Well hey now, try and savor it, dip it in the extra syrup that pools at the bottom of the stack, I think you'll find eating to be a lot better when you take your time to enjoy it." He said before he took another bite.

The smaller pink gem headed his advice as she slowed down on how much she shoveled into her mouth at once, and as he said, it was a lot better this way. Once she swallowed her next bite she saw Steven drinking his orange juice from a glass cup. "Hey-wusdat?" She asked with a mouthful as she stretched herself closer to him so she could inspect the drink.

"It's orange juice, you have some next to your plate too." The hybrid pointed out, gesturing to the cup that was placed on her end of the table. "Go ahead, try some. It's like eating, but you just pour it into your mouth and you don't chew, just swallow it." He explained.

Spinel gave a shrug as she picked the glass up and tilted her head back before pouring it all into her open mouth, a foot or so away from said mouth. She gulped it down much to his surprise, not even giving a sour look once. "Um...did you like it? Remember, you can be honest."

"Oh, well if I'm being honest, not really; I just saw that you liked it and...well I thought if you thought I liked it, it would be a new connection between us; something that we both enjoy." She admitted as she set the cup down with a smile. "Sorry."

"Hey, you don't have to apologize for everything." He let her know before he took a gulp of his drink and pushed the glass of milk towards her. "Go ahead and try that, I'm sure you'll like it better. Oh, and you don't have to dump it all into your mouth at once; if you like it, you should savor it- just like the pancakes."

Spinel gave a nod, this time deciding to do what Steven was doing as to help her drink it down slower. She found nothing extraordinary about the taste, but it was better than the juice so she decided to just drink that. Steven was discouraged that this dinner didn't pull a reaction from her, he expected her to at least remember something from that day.

The two of them ate, Spinel deciding to tell a few jokes and juggle a few items when she noticed Steven's down mood but he reassured her that he was ok. He didn't want to tell her about what was really going on because she would think he doesn't want her around because she's not her old self, and as he had already promised himself, he wouldn't bring her back through hurt or pain of any kind.

Later that night, Steven decided to reintroduce her to sleeping hoping that something would come out of her unconscious mind to help her remember, though he still stuck by his decision to not make her remember through fear and hurt, letting her sleep by his side just in case she still had those nightmares in her subconscious.

He made sure to tuck her in and get her as comfortable as possible. "What are we doin' now?" She asked, slightly squirming under the sheets and comforter. "We can't really play anything laying down."

"No no- this isn't exactly a game." He corrected, sitting next to her. "You see, humans need sleep, and while gems don't need it they are capable of it. I just thought I'd show you something new since night time is the time that you go to sleep after all."

"Ooohhhhhh, okay then." She said with a smile followed by another giggle. "Alright, how do I get 'sleep'?"

"Start by closing your eyes and just try and relax." He instructed with a warm smile, the gem doing as he instructed with her own smile.

"Okay- What now?" She asked, not opening her eyes but still seemingly antsy as she didn't stop fidgeting around, relaxation obviously not being her strong suit.

"Okay, how about this," He sighed as he thought for a moment. "I'll tell you a story to help you fall asleep to. Does that sound good?"

"A story? I'd love that." She grinned, opening her eyes again before seemingly remembering that he told her not to and closing them once more.

"Alright then...once upon a time there was an army of rogue warriors who fought against an evil empire. Their leader started a war against the four evil monarchs who wielded powers amazing enough to take over the world." He began as he closed his own eyes. "Yasmin: The emotionally hardened leader who lived to expand and further the empire, she was in charge of their armies and was the most feared general in all of the world, always seen in her golden battle armor and never removing her golden helmet to release her blonde hair. Despite looking ready for close combat, this leader could control lightning and electricity at will."

"Then there was Belle: she monitored their political activities and was known for her clever mind and ran the Homeland kingdom in a more peaceful way than Yasmin, opting to wear dark blue robes everywhere she went, her extremely light blue hair going all the way down her back, her power being to manipulate the emotions of a person to her advantage, even if she lost control of it often and forced others to share whatever intense emotion she would be feeling, most of the time the emotion being sadness."

Of course you couldn't forget Winola- the one who founded the kingdom and made sure to keep things running. She wore a shining white cloak with the inside seemingly having the universe itself on the threads, her flawless white hair shaped as if it was the largest of stars. You would almost never see this woman frown as to be unhappy was not perfection, and she was obsessed with being perfect. Her power was to control the minds and bodies of others with just the flash of her blinding light."

"...And last but not least there was Penelope... Penelope was the youngest of the four, she was considered the weakest due to her smaller body and younger age, therefore she was never respected as a leader but was spoiled nevertheless. She tried her best to dress up as royalty but was often compared to a jester, she had light pink hair, and her power was to heal and create. She could fix anything with just her touch, her kisses being said to reanimate the dead...though she wasn't know for those powers...no, everyone knew her for her destructive temper tantrums where she would destroy entire rooms of the main palace when she threw one."

"One day, Penelope threw a relatively nondestructive fit so she could have her own palace to live in and her own kingdom to watch over, as the other three had multiple kingdoms that they ruled in separately. Of course they didn't take her seriously because she couldn't act like a proper leader and just ask for their support...no, she just continued to throw fits until Winola and her came to an agreement. 'You must leave your childish ways behind if you wish to have a kingdom. Mature and you will be seen as a proper ruler on her way to being just like us- you may turn in or replace your servant and playmate or you can try to balance work and mature entertainment, that is your choice.' the head of Homeland offered."

"Of course, Penelope never had to juggle being a serious leader and playing so she didn't bother to try and start now. First was the servant: she had been by Penelope's side since she was a child and had given her endless joy and entertainment...but now she was given to Winola who eventually had her left eye removed as punishment for disobedience...then was her playmate who was her own free person but was loyal to Penelope nevertheless and returned day after day to the erm...orchard where they would go to play, never being told that her friend had abandoned her."

"Skip ahead a few years and Penelope's palace was nearly built- they royal guard taking over a very large village for her to rule over. There were tales told about her and her wicked ways- how she would have innocent people executed and tortured for her entertainment. That's when a peasant from the kingdom stepped forward to stop her reign of terror, going by the name of Rosé."

"There were few humans who had abilities as strong or as potent as the monarchs but Rosé was able to compare with her similar power of healing tears instead of a touch her power only able to heal organic material and claimed to be unable to revive the dead but her saliva reportedly being able to creat plants to fight for her. She fought with her shield and sword as she didn't have any powers of destruction, though the weapons she used were more than enough to fight off any of the royal guard that tried to stop her."

"She went around recruiting soldiers and civilians to fight for her, even getting a eleit soldier and an oracle to join her, the soldier having a mild control over fire and using a gauntlet while the oracle could peer into many paths of the future and mildly control ice as well as float. She was a powerful adversary with her multiple abilities and way seen on almost the same level as the four monarchs in status, but nevertheless fell in love with the lower class soldier."

"Then there was the builder who could twist her hands into weapons and tools as well as being heat resistant, even opting to take baths in lava. She would build weapons for Rosé and her people and she loved it, even deciding to fight as well."

"But before all of them there was the servant who had sword skills to rival even the head of the royal guard herself, having been taught by her father since she was young. She was in love with Rosé and would follow her to the ends of the universe if she had to."

"Now, there were many rebellions every year, this was nothing new and hardly an annoyance to the leaders of the world. No- Rosé had to do something drastic and become someone who couldn't be ignored...she killed Penelope. This started a full on war between Rosé and her rebellion who had at this point grown to be their own large army where she fought for the freedom of her village and won...for the most part."

"Everyone else in the village had gone insane from an attack launched by the monarchs and now they were feral animals who killed anyone they saw out of fear, their physical strength now greatly increased."

Steven went on to tell Spinel about how they would capture the mentally damaged people and try to help them with Rosé's healing powers, how nothing worked on them but they never gave up hope. How Rosé fell in love with a man in the village. There was nothing special about him, he had no powers, and he was average looking, but Rosé loved his heart and eventually had a child with him.

He told her how Rosé passed on her powers to the boy but unfortunately died while giving birth to him. How he had to go through many struggles in life and how he ended up fixing the effected humans and liberating the world from the monarchs peacefully along side the now six warriors that fought by his side through out all of it after learning his mother was Penelope, and Penelope was Rosé.

"The boy would go on to fix the world with a few bumps on his way. He'd have to go through heartbreak, he'd then have to figure out love all over again with a new person...but eventually he would settle down and they would all have their happily ever after,"

He looked over to see Spinel now seemingly struggling to stay awake, he assumed she wanted to hear the end of the story. "What happened to the girl in the orchard? Did she always return to see if her friend had returned? Did she ever hear of her faking her death?" She asked tiredly.

"You're interested in her, huh? Well I'll tell you what happened...the poor girl eventually made a house on the orchard and lived there, waiting for Penelope, having never gotten the news of what happened due to her isolation. Eventually she too had found love though. She was able to forget the past and look forward to the future with the one she loved. They grew up to have beautiful children and lived together happily for the rest of their lives." Steven explained with a smile.

"Heheh, what are children? The word sounds funny," Spinel giggled tiredly. "...but I'm glad to know she got her happy ending as well." She smiled softly as she finally nodded off.

"Yeah... me too." Steven said, his smile faltering as he held onto her gloved hand gently with both of his bare hands, allowing a few tears to slip. "Me too..."

-=End of Chapter=-

Okay, so I know this chapter feels like filler and all but I really just wanted to write as much original Spinel as I possibly could.

Now as for Steven's bed time story, yes it was a sort of a fantasy world remake of Steven's story but without gems, just humans with incredible powers.

I could end up writing this as a spin-off to this as a story that Steven goes on to tell his children/child or someone in great detail if y'all wanted (child/children are not set in stone, just one if the many possible endings I have. Also keep in mind I didn't say Spinel in there, like I said, nothing is set in stone but there are many possible endings so don't take any of this as what will happen as it's just a hypothetical)

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight, or good afternoon I'll see you all again soon!


	23. Doubt?

(Spoilers? Maybe? Nothing plot heavy.)

Okay- I can make things somewhat provocative at points and NO ONE CAN STOP ME! Lmao, it's mostly for a quick laugh and the fact that Steven is a teenage boy and in the end there will be more deliberately 18 stuff later on, that much is a given. Enjoy the innocent relationship while you can kiddos.

Edit: okay, I'm just not going to delete that cause I had hinted at some provocative things in the comments of the last chapter but I've decided against that cause like...well reset Spinel is really baby and too child-like for me to be comfortable putting in that kind of position, even if I had Steven see his Spinel, that's still reset Spinel in the situation and I literally can't do that, she acts like she's a little kid and it made me super uncomfortable even trying to do it.

Anyway, enjoy-

-=Steven=-

-=Steven's Room=-

The hybrid sat there for a while, holding her hand as he cried. Everything was coming to the surface now: the stress of fixing homeworld, all the issues with his mother, the people he inadvertently hurt, the knowledge that he would never actually know peace, that he would never actually have that happy ending...and of course what he still felt responsible for: Spinel's current state.

Eventually he stopped, Garnet coming in not too much later after that, gently taking a seat next to his bed. "Hey Steven,...you look upset, would you like to talk?" She asked quietly, looking straight ahead as she sat next to him, the hybrid unable to help wondering if the timing wasn't a coincidence.

He didn't want to open up, he knew it was probably be a bad idea and all he would get from it was another 'it's not your fault' talk like he had with Pearl, but at the same time he wanted to get it all out there now more than ever. "Spinel has been reset...I'm at fault for it too."

"...I see." Garnet nodded. "And did you mean for this to happen?" She questioned, surprising him that it wasn't straight to him not being at fault.

"N-no...of course not. But I told her I would be right there and make sure nothing happened to her and yet I was the one that started the process that got her reset...she trusted me and now she's like this because of me..." He explained, keeping quiet as well.

"Yes, maybe what you're saying is true, maybe you weren't able to protect her like you promised and a choice you made ended up indirectly causing her to be reset, but even if it was only an indirect consequence to that choice, you still didn't mean to." Garnet reminded him. "Do you really think that Spinel would be upset with you because you accidentally got her reset?"

"No...you're right but-" He was cut off by the fusion. "There is no buts, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and fix this, now how do you plan to do so?" Garnet spoke firmly as she removed her visor, showing she was serious. "I know I can't make you feel like this isn't your fault, so I'm going to make you redeemed, even in your own eyes; now how are we bringing her back?"

Steven was surprised to say the least, not even he knew this was exactly what he needed but he stopped feeling upset and was now feeling determined. "Spinel has memories buried deep within her, I just have to keep bringing back memories and I just know that she will remember."

"How do you know she has these memories at all?" Garnet questioned, slightly skeptical as she had never seen a gem brought back from this.

"There's been flashbacks and she still won't leave my side, she looked like she was going to get violent with Pearl for just suggesting she wait outside." Steven explained, glancing down to the sleeping gem who now had her arms wrapped tightly around his one arm, the little gem wearing a smile.

Garnet looked down to her as well, hardly believing someone like her was even capable of violence. "It seems simple to me then...put her in one spot and make her wait. I'm not saying drop her off in the garden again but this seems like the quickest way."

"No, no way, I refuse to bring her back by making her remember hate, abandonment and betrayal. I will not be the one to make her feel like that." Steven shot back defensively with a growl, his pink glow flaring up on his face slightly before diminishing, surprising even himself. "I-I'm sorry...but no, I'm not doing that. I'm taking her out tomorrow, maybe stopping by homeworld at some point."

"Very well then, I'm glad I was able to help you with your problem...you should come to us more often, we understand some human issues and emotions you know." She spoke with a small smile as she resummoned her visor and made her way downstairs, leaving steven and his slumbering friend to sleep in peace.

The hybrid teenager gave a sigh as he laid down and closed his eyes. "I'll fix this...I'll make things right." He thought to himself as he began to slowly drift off with his reset companion by his side.

-=Next Morning=-

-=Steven/Spinel=-

That night Steven had dreamt about the previous day, he tried his hardest to break Spinel free this time but once again to no avail. This time though, Spinel wasn't in her gem and there was a window into the shell, allowing him to watch clearly as his friend screamed and begged for him to help her, his name repeatedly being called out, the sound of her voice getting louder and louder.

"STEVEN! STEVEN! STEVEN!" He was shaken awake by a distressed Spinel,...the reset version of her that is... "Steven, are you okay?!" She asked, seemingly panicked, confusing the boy even further.

"Wha- what are you going on about?" He asked as he pulled his arm over his eyes to block out the sun. "And was it really necessary for you to wake me up like that?"

"Y-you were repeating my name and thrashing around, your face was turning pink again...it scared me..." She spoke softly, seemingly bashful about waking him up like this. He gave a huff as he went to move but realized he was once again under her, the smaller gem sitting on his lap with her arms on his shoulders, assumably from when she was trying to wake him up.

"Right...sorry about that, I was just having a nightmare." He said with a sigh as he sat up, Spinel not moving but he didn't really care at this point, he had a headache.

"A nightmare?" She asked, her interest in this apparently unknown concept bringing him relief as he assumed it meant she didn't have one. "What's that?"

"It's nothing, really." He moved her off of himself before getting up and making his way to his dresser and grabbing some clothes for himself. "Anyway, I gotta get ready for the day so you can either come downstairs with me or do whatever up here."

"Coming!" She announced, her joyous self making her way over to the tired teen's side. "So what are we doin' now?" She questioned with a smile as she made it a point to hold onto his arm, feeling some instinctual need to make sure he never left her side.

"Well first I'll get cleaned up and dressed, you can watch some cartoons while I do that and then we can eat." He informed her, the two of them making their way downstairs, this time Pearl being in her room, though Steven didn't really mind, he was turning 16 soon after all, he couldn't count on her to make his breakfast every day.

"Wait, can't I get the 'cleaned up and dressed too'?" She asked, obviously having no idea what he was talking about but nevertheless wanting to participate in whatever action her best friend was doing or obtain whatever item he was as well.

"No, that is something I'm supposed to do alone, you just sit here on the couch and look for something to watch." He said, turning on the tv and handing her the remote. "You use these two buttons to look through different things to watch till something catches your eye."

"W-Wait, where are you going?" She asked anxiously, her chest feeling heavy despite the fact that she didn't even breath. "Why can't I go with you?" Her hold on his arm tightened as her eyes began to burn.

Steven came to realize that this was even worse than before, beginning to panic as well, not wanting her to have to remember this way as he wasn't even sure if this would bring back all her memories or if they would be the only ones to return.

"Hey, it's ok." He reassured her, leading her over to the bathroom door and opening it. "I'll be right in this room, the only way in or out is right here so you don't have to worry about anything, I promise." He said giving her a warm smile as she looked around the windowless room.

"You promise you'll come back? There's really no other way to sneak out?" She asked her voice quiet as she looked down to the floor feeling slightly silly for all this but also unable to stop herself from feeling scared about her new friend leaving.

"I promise, you just go watch some tv and only bother me if it's an emergency, okay?" He instructed carefully as she made herself let go of him hesitantly. "I'll be out soon, so just keep yourself busy or entertained."

"Alright...ok, I'm sorry." She nodded, her head hanging low, this new attitude tugging on Steven's heart. "Don't worry about it, I'm not." He said, giving her a smile as he ruffled her hair playfully, bringing a smile back to her face.

Steven gave her one last nod and wave before closing the door and locking it, giving a sigh as soon as it separated them. "How did she go from bad to worse about her anxiety after loosing the memory of what hurt her?" He asked himself quietly as he got undressed, tossing his clothes into a basket before starting the shower.

The young Diamond let out another sigh, this time a breath of relaxation. Showers let him think about things or clear his head if need be, this time being the former. "So much is happening right now...I have to go and check on homeworld today but luckily that coincides with me trying to make Spinel remember things. Ugh, and I still haven't gotten the chance to think about my feelings for her...why does life always have to be so hard for me? I feel pitiful complaining about all of it, I'm sure there are many out there who go through worse on a daily basis but I really just want a break from all this..."

He decided to ignore his thoughts now and just opted to clearing his head as he let the water run down himself. "Um- Steven?" He heard a small voice call to him from the other side of the curtains.

He was quick to wrap said shower curtain around himself as he peeked out to see Spinel standing there and twiddling her thumbs. "I know you said only interrupt you if it was an emergency, but your Pearl told me to tell you to hurry up in here as she is getting the stuff for 'eating' ready." She said almost robotically, though Steven ignored it for now.

"Spinel, you could've told me from the other side of the door or at leased knocked." Steven said with a huff. "I'll be done soon, just go back out there and watch tv while you wait." He instructed impatiently, refusing to take his eyes off of her but not being too rude as he knew she meant nothing by invading his privacy.

She looked around the bathroom for a bit before giving a shrug. "Alrighty then." She said as she turned around and walked to the door. "Wait, now that I think about it, didn't I lock the doo-" He was interrupted mid thought. "Amethyst, I did it!" Spinel called out earning a scowl from Steven once he put two and two together.

"Oh come on man- you ratted me out!" He could hear the purple sisterly gem respond, seemingly disappointed that she wouldn't get away with her antics without blame, earning a 'whoops' from Spinel as the door closed once again.

He chose against taking his time in favor of just getting out and seeing how things were going out there as to prevent her from telling Spinel to do something more than just stand outside the curtain. After washing up real quick, he turned the water off and got out, drying off as he walked over to the sink. He wrapped the towel around his waist and brushed his teeth before getting dressed and walking out, immediately looking down to Amethyst who was on the couch, Spinel sitting a few feet away.

"Heh, sup?" The Quartz nodded with her arms behind her head, seemingly trying to act like she had no involvement with the earlier little incident. "Heard you got walked in on, huh?"

"Amethyst, What did you tell her to do?" He questioned as he folded his arms over his chest staring down at her down to her with a mildly annoyed look. "I know it was you, what were you hoping for?"

"Eh- y'all have been stalling this thing long enough, just thought I'd give the two of you a situation or three that only couples would be in." She says nonchalantly with a shrug, looking back to the cooking show that was on. "But whatever, guess that's ruined now."

Steven did something she didn't expect in the slightest and gave a slight chuckle. "Huh? Isn't that the kind of thing that usually ticks you off?" She asked with a raised brow, watching him closely.

He just dropped down onto the couch, seemingly not even bothered by the accusation this time around. "Yeah, I'm sorry but you have it so twisted." He said with another slight chuckle.

"What? Is this just you being extra trying to tell me that you're just friends again?" Amethyst asked, seemingly becoming somewhat annoyed by her assumption. "I get it man, you're 'just friends' and bla bla bla, you can stop with whatever this is."

"No, unfortunately enough for you, you can't make that joke anymore." He sighed as Spinel moved places and sat down next to him. "It's complicated, just ask Pearl about Spinel next time you see her." He instructed, still not wanting any unforeseen consequences for telling Spinel that he's trying to get rid of her current person in turn for the Spinel he had come to know.

"I assume it has something to do with this change of her's?" Amethyst asked, looking back to the now confused little gem. "I thought she just put on a cute act and outfit for you, can't wait to hear this story." She chuckled as she stood up, making her way to the temple, assumably to talk to Pearl.

Steven gave a sigh as he stood up as well. "Alright Spinel, time to find some food to eat and then we can get going." He announced to his friend, the aforementioned gem deciding to get up as well and follow him into the kitchen.

"Doesn't the Pearl get the 'food' for us to do eating?" Spinel questioned opening the cabinets while his back was turned, his head in the fridge as he looked for food. She found her way under the sink, her face lighting up in wonder at the many colorful chemicals that they had to clean the many messes you would expect a family of space rocks to make...Amethyst...

"Sometimes, yeah." He said, closing the fridge, not finding anything good for them to eat, passing by Spinel on his way to the pantry, grabbing the open bottle of drain cleaner right as it was about to pour into her open mouth. "Don't mess with the stuff in there." He Said absentmindedly, making his way to the other side of the kitchen. "Anyway- today she seems to be taking a break or busy." He continued as he twisted the lid back on, looking through the cabinets for food but once again to not avail.

He gave a sigh as he put the cleaner back under the sink where Spinel was looking for more interesting colors to taste. "So we might as well have breakfast on homeworld, I was taking you there today anyway." The hybrid informed her, looking away for just a second to make sure the fridge was closed only to turn back around and see Spinel with bubbles coming from her mouth and tears in her eyes.

"Spinel, what did I just say?" He said with a raised brow, the pink gem doing her best to respond. "Ish sho nashy!" She cried out, some of the blue dish soap leaking out with the bubbles. "Buh Ih wahen in here!"

Steven understood her trying to explain how disgusting it tasted and how she didn't find it in the same place as the other cleaning items. The hybrid just gave another sigh as he turned the water on, pulling her over gently. "Wash it out with the water and be thankful that gems can't get poisoned by things they put in their bodies."

The slinky-like gem was quick to get all the soap out of her mouth, creating many bubbles for her afterwards. "Now tell me, why in the world you did you think that that was a good idea?" He asked once she was done.

"I-it was colorful..." She sheepishly said. "How would I know it would taste so bad?...Are you mad?..."

His gaze softened as he placed his hand on her head once again, knowing that he would almost immediately earn a smile for doing so, which he did. "Of course I'm not mad at you, I'm just a little stressed out today is all."

"Oh, would you like to play? Maybe that'll help you relieve some stress?" The pink gem offered, her eyes lighting up.

"I'd love to have some fun and all but we have to go to homeworld now." He dismissed as he took his hand back, walking past her and towards the stairs that lead to his room. "Blue will be happy to se us, I'm sure she would be glad to make us breakfast. Either way, I really need to check up on them in person, I was supposed to be going back tomorrow."

"Blue? Like Blue Diamond? A Diamond do a task that a Pearl would do? Well that doesn't sound right." The shorter gem laughed the claim off as she followed behind him.

"Right- you don't remember...homeworld is different now, the Diamonds are no longer ruthless dictators, everyone is learning to be equals, there are no more unrightfully shattered gems and most of the gems seem to be happy with the changes." He informed her, the two of them finding their way into his room where he grabbed his travel bag and began stuffing it with clothes.

"That sounds really nice and all, but only most of the gems? Why would any gem not enjoy a happier homeworld?" She questioned with a quizzical look.

"Well some gems liked the way things were because they had a lot of authority or because they enjoyed their job." Steven shrugged, zipping the bag shut and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Well why can't they have their jobs back? Wouldn't that make everyone happy?" She continued to ask questions, not that Steven had a problem with it.

"The gems who lost their jobs were all doing things that hurt others in one way or another: assassins, Agates, kindergarteners, gems who made world destroying weapons and soldiers who enjoyed always having a enemy to fight." He listed off a few of the occupations and gems that came to mind. "Of course we still have soldiers on stand by, but quite a few of them were unhappy that we didn't have anything to fight anymore."

"Maybe they should try playing games!" Spinel suggested excitedly. "It's better than fighting and more fun too!"

"Heheh, I'm sure there are many gems out there that would love to learn from you when it comes to how to have fun, but these gems don't really care about that." The young Diamond informed her, leading her outside of his room, making his way up to his tower.

"Aw, that's no good." She continued as she crossed her arms. "I guess not all gems were meant to play...oh well, all the more of a reason for me to be happy I have you as my best friend!" The playful gem grinned as she wrapped her stretchy arms around the hybrid, enveloping him in like five hugs, receiving a light chuckle from him as well.

After she let him go he lead her to the warp pad in the tower. "Next stop: homeworld...let's see how things are going without me." He spoke under his breath, hoping that the Diamonds actually listened to what he had said. A flash of light filled the room and they were gone.

-=Steven/Spinel=-

-=Homeworld/The Diamond's House=-

The duo stood on the warp in the house of the Diamonds, Steven being quick to hear the voices of the occupants of said house. "Alright Spinel, let's go say hi to the Diamonds then." He gave her a nod before leading her out into the kitchen area where they saw the three temporarily normal sized ex-monarchs sitting at the table, seemingly still on schedule despite the fact that he was gone.

"Hey guys." He spoke up with a wave, gaining the attention of all of them who seemed pleased to see them. "How are things going around here without me?"

Without warning he was immediately lifted and brought face to face with White. "Oh Star Shine, it's been terrible! These gems are getting on my last nerve, it's so difficult not to do something 'bad'!" She complained, holding him close to her seemingly just as stressed as he was. "You're here to deal with all that, right? I don't know how much longer I can deal with this rebellion without shattering one of them or something! You're the one who deals with the more peaceful punishments, your patience knows no bounds!"

He just gave a slight chuckle as he placed a kiss on his Diamond aunt's gem. "Yeah, I can set some things straight while I'm here, but I'm really here to get Spinel to remember some things. Oh yeah, I kind of destroyed a Pearl modification place; it was being...difficult..."

"I wouldn't worry about it, we have many of them anyway. Though I must ask: what happened with your Spinel? Didn't she decide against that look already?" Yellow Diamond asked from her spot in the dining room, confusing the aforementioned gem even further.

"No, like I said: the modification place was being difficult." Steven reminded her, his voice becoming firm, hoping that she would catch on. Thankfully enough she did to some degree and didn't press the issue.

"...Steven." Spinel tried to get his attention, the teen responding with "One second Spinel. Hey Blue, there isn't really anything to eat back at the house. Sorry to ask, but you think you could make us something to eat real quick before we head into the capital?"

"Star Shine, I don't think that's a good idea..." White hummed, though she knew she wouldn't be able to make him change his mind anyway.

"Don't worry, I'll grab a disguise for us like always- everything will be fine." He said brushing off the warning, not thinking twice about it just as White predicted he would, deciding he'll learn by failure if nothing else.

Blue didn't like the idea either but she didn't really speak up because not even White pressed the issue. "Well about the food, don't worry about it, I was about to make Yellow something to eat anyway." His Blue aunt responded with a smile as his pink friend tugged oh his shirt, whispering his name again, "Steven..."

"Alright then, thank you." He said with his own smile. "I'll just be over here then." The young Diamond announced, taking Spinel around the corner to talk in private. "Yes Spinel?"

"...There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" She asked gently, the question not coming off as accusatory as he would've expected, but then again her was dealing with this Spinel, the overly kind, happy and polite one. Not to say that his Spinel wasn't any of those things, just not to the extreme that this Spinel was.

"Alright, there might be some things I was leaving out, but it's not like I was completely lying to you." He said with a forced nervous chuckle and a slight shrug. "But I assume you just want to know everything now, don't you?"

She seemed to take a moment to think but her smile returned in the end as she gave a shrug of her own. "Nah, that's okay." She finally said, needless to say, this came as a surprise to Steven.

"Wait, what? You know you're forgetting things and you're fine with not knowing?" He asked in disbelief, shocked that she would just be fine with the situation she's in right now.

"Well, I thought I would like to know eventually...but I trust you. I may only have a day or so of memories, but I'm happy with the way things are. I have my best friend by my side and he seemingly cares for me, even as much as to introduce me to new things such as video games and eating. You asked if I remembered anything yesterday and I said no, and that we would make new memories later on...well I'm already making such amazing memories with you, so even if I never get those old memories back, I think I'm ok with that because...well I don't need them to be happy, I think I'll be fine just having you here instead." Her response hit even harder than the last one, he could hardly process the fact that she just said she didn't need her memories and how mature she was being as well.

Instead of saying anything, he just put his hands on her shoulders. "Stev-ah!" He took her by surprise as he pulled her in for a hug but she continued to smile and giggle nevertheless as she returned the gesture. Steven on the other hand was going through a completely different set of emotions as he set his head on top of hers, holding back tears.

"Will I ever get her back?... What if she doesn't want to remember? She went through such a horrible thing that it completely changed her, so is it really just me? Am I being selfish by trying to bring all that back despite her happiness that she has now?..." Yet another thing to think about dropped on him like a sack of bricks. They stood like this for a while, Spinel not minding in the least and Steven just needing it before they were eventually called in by Blue Diamond.

The hybrid realized they had been standing there for a good ten minutes as he let her go and cleaned up his face. "Come on Spinel, lets go eat." He spoke with his usual warm smile as he put a hand on her shoulder and lead her into the kitchen.

-=End of Chapter=-

Okay, there you have it, another chapter I just kinda spewed out lol. Took me a day or so to write this so thankfully I can go and work on my evil Steven ATs for a bit, so that's nice.

Or that's what I wanted to say. Nah, I physically can't stop myself from releasing the chapter immediately after finishing it unfortunately enough for me hahaha- but I will be working on my AT for a day or so as I said.

**The AT can be found on my Wattpad but I'm not transferring it over till I get a good amount of chapters done cause that's just more to worry about.**

Anyway, I just realized that we hit nearly 30k reads, and I can't say this enough: thank you all for reading and bringing this story into light. I know I don't really care about numbers in general other than comments but this story would have none of that (or probably not even exist) if all of you hadn't read this and helped it grow so much, so I just want to say thank you all for reading- if you were here since the beginning or you are new or anywhere in between I thank you for being here.

Anyway, as always-

Good morning, goodnight or good afternoon, I'll see you all again soon!


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